Feeling The Pain
by BeautyInTheEyes
Summary: When you lose everything you had, you give into yourself and start feeling the pain. That very pain can consume you, and break you down to nothing. But when somebody new comes around, things tend to get a little bit better, and they build you back up again. Old and New survivors. EllisxZoey Rated "M" for dark material.
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N: Hey everybody! So as I mentioned in my other story, I said I'd be starting a new story soon. And here it is! This one is a little less in depth, because I've decided that I would have Zoey going on her own now. I know, I know. I'm horrible for killing off Francis and Louis. But it's easier to write just Zoey and the new survivors POV's. WARNING: very dark material, very morbid writing going on here. Violence, gore, the whole nine yards. So here you all go, and I hope you enjoy!]**

Zoey's POV:

_Rain, rain, rain, and oh guess what? More fucking rain! _I shouted this in my head as the dark clouds above me refused to quit pissing it down. The lightning flashed, and thunder boomed, and I felt so terribly alone. I trudged through a washed out city with very few infected wandering aimlessly around me. I was thankful they hadn't noticed me, or else I'd be in some serious shit. My pistols were out of ammo, and I'd dumped my shotgun awhile back, when that had also run out of ammo. I didn't even have a melee weapon on me. And I was sure as shit my fists wouldn't do very much good if I got caught in a hoard. Either way around, I was screwed up one side and down the other.

The rain seemed to somehow pick up and pour down harder. The wind whipped my soaked, mangled hair around my face, impairing my vision even more. It didn't help that I couldn't see three goddamn feet in front of my own face. The fatigue I'd been carrying seemed to be dragging on me now, weighing me down. My eyelids were drooping, and I was literally dragging myself. My body was searing with pain, but I had no choice but to ignore it, and keep trudging on. I wanted to scream, to let out my emotions. To show this fucked up, piece of shit world how much I hated it. How much I wanted to take every goddamn zombie and rip its heart out through its chest, and maybe then I could get the smallest bit of satisfaction out of my miserable, pointless life.

All the memories I'd been suppressing finally came flooding back in, almost crippling me. First there was the memory of Bill sacrificing himself for us, and with that came guilt that stopped me dead in my tracks and brought me to my knees in the middle of a street. The rain continued to pour on my head. And then the next memory came flooding in. The memory of Louis not being able to stand, because of his leg, as I dangled helplessly off of the edge and could only watch as the Tank punched him clean off the bridge into the water below. My stomach heaved, and the rain somehow fell harder. I dropped down lower into the puddle I had fallen to my knees in. The final memory came flooding in. Francis, brave as Bill. He killed that goddamn Tank by himself, and then he helped me up onto the bridge. Those other survivors had long since left, and I instantly regretted not going with them. We were both in a dangerous situation. We'd made if off the bridge and pretty far away from it. I could still see his body lying on that safehouse floor. I'd stayed with him until his last dying breath. And his last wish was for me to not give up. To find those other survivors, to keep fighting, and to not give up ever. I promised him I would.

I shut my eyes tightly as my stomach heaved and bile burned a path up my throat and out of my mouth. It spilled out onto the ground, and into the puddle I was kneeling in, leaving a blotch of greenish yellow slime floating on the surface. I choked and coughed, spitting as the mild burning subsided, but in my mouth the foul taste coated my tongue and my teeth, leaving me spitting and drooling. Another wave of nausea hit me like a smack in the face, and I heaved violently, but brought up nothing at all, except maybe some dust. I coughed and gagged, and took deep swallows of air, trying to calm myself. I needed to keep moving, but I couldn't seem to bring myself to get out of the puddle, to pick myself up and keep walking forward, to find the next safehouse, and who the fuck knew where that was.

I looked up at the sky and scowled. The raindrops hit my face hard, and the wind had died down a bit, but it was still whipping my hair in my face. _Fuck you! Fuck everything!_ I screamed as loud as I could in my head, and felt my face turning red at the force of it. I even began to brew a headache. But I didn't give two shits, it was a release.

Sighing, I decided I couldn't give up now. I had to keep trudging on, and no matter what, I couldn't give up. I had to keep my promise to Francis, I had to honor his last wish. Groaning in pain, I pulled myself up and began to limp. I hadn't realized how much I'd fucked up my ankle when I'd tripped in that hole awhile back. My clothes were soaked and I swear they made me twenty pounds heavier.

The rain fell on me and I began to feel the sting of pure hopelessness trickle into me. It stung my eyes and tricked out in the form of tears. They rolled out of my eyes and dripped down on my cheeks, hot and wet. My face already had a few droplets clinging to it from the rain, but I could feel the tears leaving a hot trail down my cheeks. I blinked away the wetness in my eyes, and kept trudging on, but doing more limping than anything. I'd tripped on a pot hole hidden by a puddle and twisted my ankle, but when I applied pressure on it, I bit my lip so hard, in order to not scream, blood droplets pooled in my mouth and dripped onto my tongue and let the disgusting metallic rust taste I had gotten familiar with, but still despised.

I hobbled on, ignoring the pain, ignoring the memories, ignoring the pouring rain and howling wind. The hopelessness I felt stung me more and more as each house I limped by lacked that familiar red door I wanted so badly to see. I wanted to give up right then and there. To just stop and drop in the middle of the road and let whatever got to my first do its job and kill me. But I shook my head, shook out the thoughts of just giving up. I promised Francis that I'd find that group of people, and I wouldn't give up trying. I still had _some _fight in me, and I'd be damned to the deepest, darkest pits of hell if I didn't honor Francis's last wish. I burned it into every fibre of my being that I had to find the nearest safehouse, or anything that even closely resembled a safehouse, just to spend the night in, and restore my strength so I could keep moving to New Orleans to find those other four.

The rain barreled down on me in sheets, and I was about to just retire into the nearest house I could find. However, as I squinted through the darkness, the rain, and my hair whipping me in the face, I vaguely saw a light on in the distance. I didn't get my hopes too high because I knew they could be crushed in an instant, but I trudged on at a slightly faster rate. My ankle screamed in protest, but I ignored it as the light came closer and closer. I hobbled faster and faster, and suddenly my heart lightened.

I came upon a very small two floor house with that familiar red door. In all the time I've been through this hell called and apocalypse, I'd never ever in my life been so happy to see a goddamn safe house. I hobbled up the steps and opened the door. As soon as I was behind it, I swiftly bolted the saferoom door behind me, ensuring that nothing would be able to get in. I sighed and collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily, but laughing a victorious laugh. I was lying on my back, my arms splayed out around me, my hair exploding around me as I yanked it out of the ponytail. My ankle throbbed and I could tell I'd done something nasty to it. My clothes were soaked and heavy, and freezing. I thought I was going to pass out right there on the floor, until my stomach growled rather loudly. My last meal was the very bottom crumbs in a box of stale cereal two days ago.

I decided I needed to investigate this place. I pulled myself up, and my ankle made a sickening crack. I collapsed back onto the floor, biting my lip again, but roughly twice as hard. The blood began to pool again, and hot tears were escaping my eyes. I hurt so bad…so goddamn bad. I didn't know if I was going to throw up dust again or pass out.

I couldn't find any more strength in myself. So I decided that I was going to spend the night on the floor. I was in too much pain to even begin to think about even dragging myself across the floor. Combined with all of the fatigue and starvation, I knew I was one hundred percent drained of any and all strength. I knew it was risky just staying here on the floor, unprotected. I couldn't really seem much in this house, but the air smelled stale and dusty, yet dry. But I didn't care. I didn't care I was soaking wet and on the floor. At least I was inside.

I continued to lie on the floor, taking deep breaths, trying to ignore the pain in my ankle. I took deep steadying breaths, trying to calm myself. Nausea waves smacked me over and over if I moved my ankle even the slightest bit, and so I ended up lying perfectly still. I felt horribly awkward and uncomfortable lying motionless here on the floor, but I had no other choice.

After a while, I felt the fatigue setting in, so I let my mind wander. I let myself have a good twenty minute cry as I ran the memories of each of my fallen comrades run though my mind over and over, like a broken record almost. I tried to never cry, tried to hold my emotions in. But lately, I couldn't care less about holding anything in. On many occasion, I found myself so lonely that I was talking to myself. I never used to do anything like that. But now that I was by myself, I had nobody _but _myself to reassure me. And I sucked at reassuring.

After that episode was over, my mind delved into the thoughts of the other four survivors. I wondered if they had made it to New Orleans, if they had already been chopped out, and if they were safe. I racked my brain to remember each of their names, which wasn't easy. It has been quite a while since I saw them. However one face, one name, stuck in my mind. Ellis. I remembered his cute little blue cap with the little truck one it. I remember the yellow shirt he had with that weird, and slightly creepy, logo on it. I wasn't sure of what it was for, maybe a band or something like that. I also very clearly remembered his face. He had great features, they were all very defined, but in all the right ways. He had a strong jawline, covered in a thin layer of light stubble. He had soft looking pinkish lips. His nose was angular and jutted out a bit as if it had been broken once or twice, but that balanced out his features nicely. I mostly remembered his eyes. He had wide, curious bright blue eyes that had a really mischievous sparkle in them at all times. He was by far the most adorable man I'd ever met. Looking back on it, I realized how cold I'd been to him. But I thought of how I had softened up to him eventually. He deserved kindness because I saw he gave it to everybody he met.

I sighed as realization dawned on me that I may never get to see any of those four, whom I'd clearly remembered as Coach, Ellis, Rochelle, and Nick. They seemed like really nice folks, and they, as far as I could tell, were all extremely close. It was nice to see four people who didn't even now each existed could build relationships with each other like that. I smiled to myself, but then hot tears once again rolled down my cheeks. I was alone in this house, with a shattered ankle, no way to defend myself, probably now food, and I was soaking wet, physically and emotionally exhausted, and freezing from being damp. I felt like death, and probably looked like it as well. I lied on the floor, listening to the rain hit the glass plated windows as I cried myself into a deep restless sleep.

{**Later**}

A bird chirped loudly outside, and thunder crashed. Rain still patted against the windows. I slowly pulled my subconscious mind out from under the thick black blanket of sleep. Keeping my eyes shut, I let the warm rays emanating from the window warm my face. As feeling returned to my body, I groaned when I was hit with a sharp pang from my ankle. _Fucking thing is still broken…_ Thought to myself, groaning as I did so. The pain had lessened slightly, but had not gone away in the least. I opened my eyes, and gently propped myself up on my elbows. I had remained in the same position on the floor all night. My clothes had dried, but soured in the process and they stunk.

I yawned and became more awake and alert by the second. I noticed the rain still hitting the window, not as hard as when I first got here, but still nearly blinding. I yawned once again and looked around the safehouse I was in. The bottom floor was one room. There was a small couch pushed against one of the walls. On the end table next to it was a lamp. I wondered if the electricity still worked. On the opposite wall, there was a fridge and a few counters with cupboards above and below them. I wondered if there was any food in those. Next to me on my left was a set of stairs that led to the second floor. I sighed. I may have to go up them. But I'd cross that bridge when I got to it. For now, I gingerly brought myself up off of the floor.

I limped over to the couch and sat down, untying my shoes, and pulling them off. When I got to my broken ankle, I very delicately pulled my shoe off, but it still jolted my ankle pretty good. "Mother of mother fucking fuck!" I yelped as the pain shot through me, making me feel like jell-o, but not the nice kind of jell-o feeling.

I bent my knee and brought my ankle up as I pushed myself off of the couch and hopped like a freaking cripple to the kitchen. I opened the fridge door to find it completely bare. Sighing, I slammed it and prayed to God, if there even was one, that there would be food in at least one of the six cupboards here. I knelt down to the bottom ones first, and found three or four boxes of unopened cereal. I pulled them all out and placed them on the counter. Next, I brought myself up from the floor, which sucked because of my ankle, and opened the high cupboards. There was a jar of cookies in the first one, nothing in the second, but I found the motherlode, of believe it or not, Rice Krispie Treats. I grinned to myself. I could eat these stupid things for an eternity. Back in college, I basically lived off of them. I brought all of the food on the counter and examined. This could be enough food for a week or longer, if I ate it sparingly of course.

I tore open one of the boxes of cereal and sat there, stuffing my face. When I'd polished off half of the box, I felt contently full. My energy was fully restored, but my physical strength wasn't yet. Either way, I decided I needed to explore the upstairs. I hopped like a cripple down the short hallway and to the base of the stairs. It was a short stairwell, ten or eleven steps at the max. I gripped the wooden railing tightly, and hopped up the first step, gritting my teeth. My ankle was jostled. I sighed, took a deep breath and held it in, then hopped up the next four steps without a pause. Tears formed in my eyes as I gritted my teeth harder.

"C'mon Zoey…" I urged myself. "Don't be a goddamn baby. Just ignore it…You can do this…" I hopped up the remaining five or six steps. Until I reached the top, letting out an airy, "Oh God!"

The upstairs was nice though. There were three doors. I opened the first door, and found an empty room with three sleeping bags on the floor. I hopped over to the next room and opened the door, and found a cot with a little later on the floor. I'd have to remember to sleep up here later. It was actually pretty nice.

I hopped down a short hallway to the last door. Upon opening it, I discovered a very nice bathroom. The tiles on the floor were a graying white, and the tiles on the wall were a light, faded yellow. There was a small sink with a mirror above it in one corner. Next to the sink was a toilet with a large stack of towels on it. I hopped over to the towels and picked on up, bringing it to my nose. It smelled clean, like laundry detergent. It was such a pleasant, homey smell, I couldn't help taking a few deep whiffs.

After setting the large, fluffy towel back with the others, I hopped over to the shower. I drew back the cheap plastic curtain, and turned the faucets. I didn't expect anything at first, but after a slight gurgling noise, water_, hot_ water, came pouring out of the nozzle. There was even a few half full bottle of soap along the sides of the tub. Whoever left this place was a total fucking retard. But I didn't care who left it or why, it was mine now. I stripped myself of my clothes and left them in a small pile on the floor. I turned the water to hot, and without even bothering to check the temperature, I just jumped right in. At first, the water scalded my skin, but when I got used to it, I felt absolutely fantastic. I pumped myself a handful of shampoo and got to work on my hair.

After a vigorous scrubbing, I rinsed out all of the dirt, sweat, grime, and all around everything I'd scrubbed with the shampoo. Then, I got some of the body wash was and squirted a liberal amount onto my hand. I lathered myself up, scrubbing every single inch of my skin. Fog began to cloud up the bathroom.

When I'd finished scrubbing myself, I turned the cooling water off, and stepped out onto the cold tile floor. I hopped over to the towels and grabbed two. One of them I wrapped up around my hair, catching the droplets of moisture. The next towel, I dried every inch of my skin off, feeling clean for the first time on God knows how long. I decided not to get dressed in my grimy clothes, because that would defeat the entire purpose of the shower. Instead, I went back to the tub and turned the water on, and then placing the stopper in the drain. When the tub filled with water, I added some soap, and dropped every article of my clothing in. I scrubbed everything with my knuckles as the water began to turn and ugly grayish brown. I spent probably a good fifteen minutes scrubbing my clothes. When I was finished, the water was a greasy looking black. I pulled the stopper and watched the water drain as I wrung my clothes out and hung them on the side of the tub. I was actually looking forward to putting them on now that they were clean. While my clothes were drying, I hopped over to the mirror.

I wiped the fog away and looked at myself in the mirror. For a moment, I didn't recognize the person staring back at me. My hair was wrapped tightly in the towel, and so was the rest of my body. I had many bruises on my face, and an assorted array of others decorated my collarbone and my chest. I dropped the towel and examined the rest of myself in the mirror. Along my ribs were many bruises as well. My left breast had a bruise right near the nipple, and I had no idea where that had come from. My right breast however, was perfectly fine. I sighed as I trailed my eyes down my stomach. There were numerous cuts and bruises along my stomach as well. I held onto the sink for support as I balanced all my weight on one leg. I sighed and bent down to pick up my towel. I was tired of looking at myself.

As I wrapped the towel around myself once again, I suddenly yawned. I'd spent basically my entire day just eating and showering, but all of that had tired me out greatly. Hopping over to the tub, I collected all of my clothes in my arms. Then I pushed open the door and hopped out across the hall to the room with the cot. I hung my clothes to dry on a small dresser in there. I hopped out of the room and to the next one over, collecting one of the sleeping bags from the floor. I shut that door tightly behind me, and then hopped over to the next room. I unzipped the sleeping bag and spread it out along the cot, much like a blanket. I shut the door tightly behind me, and then hooping over to the cot, I gently lowered myself onto it. I leaned back, and wrapped the sleeping bag around me as I pulled the towel out of my hair and threw it aside. Taking the hair band on my wrist, I pulled my hair up, a few light, wispy strands hanging out. My ankle didn't hurt after my hot shower, and all of my muscles were relaxed. The warmth from my shower, plus the gentle tapping from the water in the shower head gave my muscles a "massage", giving me some of my physical strength back. I sighed, cuddling into the soft cot, and wrapping the sleeping bag around myself. I sighed and closed my eyes, and not a moment later, I was pulled under the thick blanket of darkness as sleep consumed me.

"_Zoey!" Ellis called to me as he ran up the steps to the safehouse. "Zoey!" He had a goofy ass grin on his face, one that reminded me of a dog getting excited about its owner coming home. "Ellis!" I smiled at him as I sprinted out of the house and met him at the bottom of the stairs. His arms were open and welcome and I ran straight into them. Ellis wrapped his strong arms around me, and picked me up, twirling us in a circle. I giggled as he set me on my feet. "Oh baby…" He murmured as his eyes met mine. "I missed you too much for words to say." I let the smile on my lips slip away slightly as tears formed in the corners of my eyes. I reached a hand up to stroke his face. "Shh, shh, shh, Ellis sweetheart." I cooed. "It's alright now. I'm here and we're together. Nothing can take me away from you." Ellis grinned. And then he leaned his head down as he captured my lips with his. His lips were soft and gentle, and sweet. They moved in sync with mine as the kiss we shared got steamier when his hands trailed lightly from my waist to my thighs and back up to my shoulders. I pushed myself into him, wanting more. Ellis smirked into out kiss, and I knotted my fingers into his caramel hair. He trailed his hands from my waist to my stomach and then gently under my shirt. I moaned softly into his delicious mouth as his cold hands touched my overheated skin. Bringing one hand from under my shirt, Ellis unzipped my jacket, letting it fall to the ground. I groaned and felt wetness seep into my panties as his hand rose higher under my shirt to the underwire of my bra. He trailed his finger lightly around the cup of my bra before unclasping it. I left it fall from under my shirt, and dropped it on top of my sweater. Ellis then tailed his hand up over my breasts, and gently cupped one of them, massaging it. I moaned louder into his mouth. He pulled his lips away from mine and pressed them into the hollow of my throat. "Moan for me Zoey…" He whispered, his voice as smooth as silk. I moaned again as the hand on my lower back dipped down, cupping my ass. I moaned softly. Ellis brought his hand out from under my shirt, and then to my jeans where her swiftly undid the button and fly and of course my belt. My pants fell to my ankles and I stepped out, realizing I wasn't wearing my shoes, and my ankle was no longer broken. I was left standing there as Ellis pulled away from me and pulled his shirt over his head, exposing the muscles of his beautifully sculpted torso beneath. I bit my lip in anticipation. Ellis untied the mechanic suit from around his waist and let it drop, revealing a pair of green boxers with a large bulge in the middle. I smiled teasingly at him as I took a step forward. I snapped the elastic of his boxers. "These…" I smirked as I met his eyes. "Need to go…_now._" I grinned and pulled his lips to mine. His boxers fell to his feet where he quickly stepped out of them. I pulled my own panties down, letting them fall to my feet as I stepped out of them and kicked them aside to our growing pile of clothes. My tank top was pulled over my head by Ellis, and tossed aside to the clothes pile. Ellis gently pushed me back, and sat me gently on the cot. I hadn't really taken notice of my surroundings until now. We were somehow back in the room. I was confused, but too horny to care. I wanted Ellis, and I wanted him. Right. The fuck. Now. Ellis moaned softly as he lied himself on top of me. I tangled my fingers in his hair once more, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me. "Zoey…" He breathed out in a husky voice. That was sexy as all hell. "I need you…please…" he begged looking me right in the eyes. I retuned the looking, giving him permission with my eyes. Even now, he had to be a southern gentleman. "Go ahead, Ellis." I encouraged him. "Take me. I'm yours." Ellis let a small smile play on the edge of his lips as he leaned down and kissed mine. "I love you, Zoey…" He whispered into out kiss. I smiled against his lips. "I love you too, Ellis. Always…" _

I sat up, startled out of my dream, a thin layer of sweat coating me. I was still wrapped up in my sleeping bag, my towel had fallen off. I was completely naked, and I needed to get dressed. I sat upright, my head swimming a bit. I crawled over on my knees to the dresser as I used it as a leverage to pull myself up. I grabbed my panties and bra, and slipped them on, with the only little problem getting my underwear over my shattered ankle which was swelling up and turning a nasty purplish blue. I gritted my teeth as I pulled my tank top over my head, almost losing my balance. I grabbed my pants and very gingerly, pulled my ankle through. MY cheeks became puffy with air as I pulled it through, letting the air squeak out through my gritted teeth. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_…" I chanted to myself over and over as the pain became overwhelming. I kept my teeth gritted tightly, as I shoved my arms into the sleeves of my jacket, then zipped it up tightly. I left my socks inside my shoes, and my shoes at the foot of the cot. I couldn't really endure too much right now. My pain tolerance was usually off the charts, but since I lost everybody, pain and emotions blurred, and I didn't really have too much control, or tolerance for that matter, of either. I gently lowered myself on the cot, continuing to use the dresser as leverage. When I hit the cot, I grunted as my ankle jostled a bit. I lied on my back, but soon froze. I swear a heard a car pulling into the small drive on the side of the house…and headlights flash across the walls. I lay there, silent, the only sound I heard was my heart hammering in my chest. I heard a hard kick against the door, then the metal bar clanging against the floor, as well as sot voices wafting through the house, and feet shuffling on the floor.

_Ohmigodohmigodohmigod_. I thought to myself as my heart hammered. _I'm going to die…They're going to kill me… Shit… _Tears welled up in my eyes as I lay on the cot completely and utterly still. _Well…at least I tired. If I die, I won't die in vain…I tried my very hardest… _I clenched my eyes and teeth. _I'll be with them soon… _I reassured myself. _And Ellis…wherever you are, I hope you're safe… I'm sorry for being so cold… You seemed so great… I wish I could have known you better… I wish I would have gone with you… I….I…._

I stopped cold as I heard two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs.

_I think I love you…_

Ellis's POV:

I gripped the wheel of the Jimmy Gibb's Jr. tightly, my knuckles turning a sickly white. The bite mark on my shoulder hurt like a sumbitch. I couldn't really do anything for it though, instead I just had to deal with it, like an annoying itch. I refocused my attention back on the road, as the dim headlights shown very vaguely through the rain. I couldn't see three bloody feet in front of me, and I'd be damned if I wasn't damn near sure I wasn't on the road any longer. I don't know how long I'd been driving, but I was struggling a bit to keep my eyes open. I would frequently yawn, and at this moment right here, I really wish I had a cold one. I sighed and shook head my head, keeping my eyes on the road as the dark clouds wouldn't let up, letting down the rain in sheets.

Rochelle and Nick were asleep in the back, both of them breathing softly. I looked over at the empty seat next to me and sighed, tearing up a bit. My heart sank to my stomach, and I got that queasy feeling again. I sank a little lower into my seat, and blinked back the tears as I wiped my eye with the back of my hand. "Shit…" I mumbled softly in order not to wake Nick and Rochelle. "You were a hella' man, Coach."

I silently cussed to myself, as I damned that God Forsaken place called New Orleans. All of our spirits were high, well except mine of course because I'd miss that angel named Zoey on the bridge, but still, we were optimistic about the place. Military holdouts? Fucking nightmares of overrun land with dead military personnel, and some really pissed zombies. Because of that place, we'd lost one of our own, a great man whom everybody looked up to. Ain't _that _a load of shit.

I sighed and pressed the gas a little harder, picking up speed. I didn't know, or care, where I was going. I just wanted to get there so I could sleep, and I wouldn't hurt any longer. My back ached, my eyes watered, my hands cramped, and all around me was a dark cloud. I couldn't seem to get my spirits back up. All of my hope had been left in New Orleans with Coach's body. We couldn't even give the poor man a proper burial. And for that, I would have an endless amount of guilt seeping into my body for as long as I lived. My head swam, and my stomach lurched. I realized I needed to pull the Jimmy Gibbs over…_again._

I pulled over, and turned the headlights off. Laying my head back against the seat, I closed my eyes, and laid my hands over them and took a few deep swallows of air. The queasiness had made itself known, and I felt myself getting sicker by the second. Eventually, my attempt to control my vomiting was all in vain. I opened the door and swung my legs out, gripping my knees as I rested my head between my legs. My stomach lurched and I gagged, burping. Following suit, the thick greenish yellow bile spilled out over my lips, and into a small puddle on the rain. The pissing rain thundered on my back as it soaked through my shirt. My mechanic suit was getting soaked as I coughed and sputtered, spitting. The sour taste burned my mouth as I slid back into the Jimmy Gibbs and closed the door behind me. I felt like there was a Boomer sitting on my chest as I struggled a bit for air. I ignored the aches and pains in my body, and instead I just put the pedal to the floor and peeled out. I refused to let myself think about Coach, I would only have a repeat of what just happened. And believe me that has happened more than once or twice over twenty minutes.

I kept to the same road, and didn't stop my continuous driving until a reflection caught my eye. I slowed the Jimmy Gibbs to a stop as I came upon a green sign that said _Welcome to Rayford! Georgia welcomes you!_ I cocked an eyebrow. Rayford? Hadn't we been here before? I shrugged and climbed back into the car, hoping there would be a nice place to crash this evening. I was tired as hell, and didn't know how much longer I could keep driving through this shit weather. Not to mention, my stomach hurt from lurching, so all I really wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes for a few beats.

I sighed as I drove rather slowly through the outskirts of this town, which seemed to go on forever. Miles of houses lined the streets, most of them ransacked and nearly burnt to the ground. I was about to give up and say screw it I need some sleep, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glimmer of light. My heart lightened a bit at the thought of a safehouse. I slowed the Jimmy Gibbs as I came across a small, but suitable looking safehouse. There was a small driveway, so I gently pulled in, bringing the car to a stop. Rochelle jolted awake, and Nick followed suit, rubbing his eyes.

"Is everything alright Ellis, sweetie?" Rochelle asked, yawning. Her tired eyes were red rimmed from all the crying she had done earlier. I felt bad for the poor girl. She took it the hardest when Coach had died. They were the closest with each other, and now Ro was left with Nick and myself, us two immature idiots. Although Nick was older than Rochelle by a good six years, he was less mature than she. Ro liked to take charge, and be a mother to us. I swear, sometimes I saw some of my own mama in her. And now she was the last woman on this God forsaken Earth. But I made a promise to Coach silently in my heart, I would lay my life down for Rochelle if the time came. "Why are we stopped?" She asked, fixing her hair into that tight little bun she sported.

"I think we're at a safehouse. Hell, I could be wrong." I shrugged. "But by the look of that metal door, it's a safehouse alright. I figured as long as we're here, might as well take advantage of it. Besides, this goddamn rain ain't lettin' up anytime soon, and I'm tired as shit." I yawned. "Might as well just stay here the night. We ain't got nothing to lose."

Nick nodded. "You got a point there, kid. Besides, I'd be nice to sleep on a couch or something because it's really cramped up in here, my back is contorted and it aches. Let's go check it out. One night here won't hurt. Hopefully there is food and water."

Rochelle didn't say anything, she just nodded and picked her Ak-47 up from the floor, slinging it over her back. She locked her pistol securely in its holster. Nick grabbed his SMG from the floor, and checked the holster on his leg, making sure he had a full cartridge. I grabbed my shot gun, and my dual pistols, plopping them in my pocket as I swung my shotty over my shoulder. We all filed out of the Jimmy Gibbs and into the pissing rain. I shivered as the cold seeped through my shirt and clung to my skin. My boots sloshed in the puddles as I made my way towards the door. Nick was close on my heels, followed by Rochelle on his. I pushed on the door.

"It's locked. Lemme see what I can do. Step back, y'all." I brought my leg up, and smashed my door against the door, sending it flying open, the metal bar clanging on the ground. "We're in."

Nick patted me on the back. "Nice going, Ellis."

I nodded and then took a step into the small saferoom. I coughed at the dust, and the stale air infiltrated my lungs. I clicked my flashlight on and ran it around the room. "Hey Nick!" He turned towards me. "There's a couch right there." Nick laughed.

"Dibs."

"Fair 'nuff." I said with a smirk as he trekked over to the couch and plopped himself down. His jaw went slack as his eyes slipped shut. He was asleep no more than thirty seconds later. I half smiled. Nick was like a brother to me, and I wanted him to sleep comfortably tonight. I was assuming by the size of this house, it only had a bed and bath upstairs. I wanted Rochelle to have the bedroom, I could sleep on the floor.

"Hey Ellis!" Rochelle called from the kitchen. "C'mere!" I walked into the kitchen as Rochelle was gazing almost lovingly at a large pile of food.

"Holy shit…" I whistled. "That's a great supply, for a few days at most. We may as well stay here until we run out, or the rain lets up. Whatever happens first." Rochelle nodded, and then yawned.

"I think I'll save feasting for tomorrow. May as well go check out the upstairs."

We both walked to the stairwell, chuckling as we walked by Nick, slack jawed and snoring lightly. "He's almost lovable when he's asleep." Rochelle smirked and I held in a laugh.

"Hey, yer right." I said, chuckling. We started our way up the stairs.

There were three doors on the top floor. Rochelle opened the first one, peering in. "It's clear." She said as she walked in. There were two sleeping bags on the floor. "One for me and one for you?" She asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Sure." I said, nodding. "Let's check out these other rooms." I walked down the hall to the farthest door as Rochelle gently opened the second door. I opened the door and found a bathroom with, thank the good Lord in Heaven, a shower and even a stack a fluffy towels. I smiled as I closed the door.

"Ellis…" Rochelle whispered quietly. "Come here…now…"

I walked quietly down the hall to Rochelle as she stood her mouth agape in the door way. "Ro! You won't believe this! This place has a shower, and even some towels! It males ya wonder if the shower is runnin'… I sure could go for one right abo-" She cut me off and pointed her finger inwards towards the room.

"Is that…" She paused, swallowing as a small smile played at the corner of her lips. "It that _Zoey_?"

My eyes lit up as I peered into the room. Lying there on the cot was that face I'd been seeing in my dreams since we left her on the bridge. Then everything clicked. Rayford! We're in Rayford! We'd been here before on our way to New Orleans! After we'd trekked all the way back to the miles of parked cars to get the Jimmy Gibbs, somehow we'd managed to end up in Rayford again…and there, right _there _in front of me, was the angle of my dreams, the girl I thought I'd never see again.

"Zoey?" I called, my voice slightly higher than usual.

She sat up. Her eyes met mine, and for a moment, the world stopped. "Ellis?" a hushed whisper echoed back to me.

**[A/N: Well, there you have it! 7,071 words later, chapter one is complete! I hope you liked it. Now, I understand that this chapter is **_**highly **_**confusing. But don't worry. You must be patient with me because if I do miraculously get you hooked on this story, you are going to HATE me! I have a devious mind, one that works in ways which people have a rather tough time understanding. So here's what's going down: basically this is a 'wait-and-see' story. Things aren't going to make sense when you first read them, but if you **_**wait **_**then you will **_**see **_**and things will be explain in full, I promise. But for now you have this vivid mental picture and you're probably not sure what the hell is going on. Trust me, a few chapters from now you'll all be going "Oooohhhh!" as the realization hits. I apologize for the typos because I was feeling rather lazy when I wrote this and didn't feel like checking it over. Just make the best of it, try and comprehend. I know my grammer can be off because of damn autocorrect. Seriously, that shit's annoying. Especially on a smart phone. IF you have one, you know **_**exactly**_** what I mean. Heh. Anways…Review please? It would make me a very happy little author! XOXO]**


	2. Chapter 2

**[A/N: Hello again, everybody! Thought I'd update seeing as how I have nothing better to do with my life… Just kidding! It's, oh say, 1:10 in the morning, I'm chock full of energy and ideas, so let's get this puppy going! Oh and something I forgot to mention! One of my avid story readers, (l4d freak), pointed out to me in the last chapter I put Rochelle older than Nick. Holy shit I'm a fucking dumbass. Rochelle is 29, and Nick is 35, just to clear that up. I think I've fixed the mistake by now. Thank you for pointing that out to me, wft was I thinking? Also, thanks to Fatty Waffey, I had to correct yet another mistake. Ellis has blue eyes, not brown like I said. And I knew that too! Gah. *facepalm* But everything is in order now, and the facts are all right. Jesus, where would I be without you guys correcting the errors I've made? This is rather sad too because I knew all this too. Well, I guess that's what I get for staying up until four thirty a.m. typing these. I guess my brain sort of confuses facts. So please, keep bearing with me. Enjoy!]**

Ellis's POV:

"Jesus Christ…" I breathed as I locked my blue eyes with her sparkling green ones. Her eyes were dim, heavily touched by a great deal of sadness. I could tell she'd been crying quite a bit, it was written all over her face. The way she looked at Rochelle and I, well I'd be one heartless sumbitch if I didn't want to reach out to her, and just hold her in my arms telling her it'd be okay. But, sadly, I couldn't. So I just had to stand here, locking eyes with her, waiting for her to say something. "What happened to you?" I whispered out at she began to whimper. My heart ached for this poor girl. She had been through a shitstorm as far as I could tell. I'm sure my gawking didn't help, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. This girl, whom I believed I'd loved the first day I met her, and I thought I'd never get to see again, was sitting there, right in front of my own two eyes. But there she was living, breathing, and obvisously not a figment of my imagination. My dreams were never _this _lifelike, and boy, I'll tell ya, my dreams had not done her pretty face justice.

I saw a tear bubble up in the corner of her eye, and trickle soundlessly down her cheek. She quickly brought up her hand and wiped it away, hoping none of us would catch it. But I certainly did, and my heart lurched forward towards her. I walked slowly over to the cot, and knelt down to her. Zoey dropped her head, her shoulders sagging. Her face was pale, and in the amount of days that I'd seen her since we departed from Rayford, which totaled to be nearly a month, she looked like her weight had a serious drop. Her clothes did no more than to just merely hang off of her small, weak looking frame. Her muscles were probably strained to their max, and I was willing to bet that her physical strength was little to none. Just seeing her in this almost pitiful state made me want to just hold her and have a nice long cry together. But I couldn't do that. I only wished.

"Um…" Rochelle said quietly from the doorway, lingering almost completely in the hallway. "I'm really exhausted, and I hate to be selfish, but I need to rest. I'll be in the room right next door. Ellis, or even you Zoey…" She threw a sideways glace to where Zoey was, but then dropped her eyes to me, making sure she made herself clear. "If either of you need anything, _anything _at all, just give a holler. Have a good night, you two. Ellis sweetie?" She said pointing at me. "Please come here for a second, I'd like to talk to you." I nodded, this was obvisously something rather important.

I patted Zoey gently on her leg, in a gesture saying 'I'll be right back', as I stood up and exited the room. Rochelle pulled me by the arm roughly and shut the door to Zoey's room softly. She grabbed my chin and made me meet her look dead on. "Listen to me, Ellis." Rochelle said gently to me, in a motherly 'tough love' tone of voice. "That girl has been through some seriously nasty shit. She's pretty damaged both emotionally and physically. Don't crowd her, don't prod her. Just be a supporting shoulder. And whatever you do, boy, _do not _try and get all lovey dovey with her. She's in a bad spot, and that won't help." She let go of my chin, and pulled me into a loving, motherly embrace. "You mean well, Ellis. You could do well for that girl. Just be gentle with her, and make sure she's comfortable at all times, you hear?" I nodded as she let me go. "Good. Now I'm headed to bed." She kissed me on the cheek softly and then patted it. "See you tomorrow."

I nodded once more. "'Night Ro, sleep well, girl." She smiled, and then went into her room, but before closing the door, she tossed me a sleeping bag. "Stay with her tonight." She said, her voice gentle. Then she closed herself behind the large white wooden door. I sighed as it clicked in place. I felt terrible all around, and the sudden urge to break down washed over me like a tsunami. But, instead, I decided I need to be strong for Zoey, so I sucked in a big breath, and put a brave face on. I had no idea how long the night ahead of me was going to be.

I softly rapped on the door before opening it a crack, peering in. Zoey was sitting idly on the cot, her head slumped against the corner wall. In her hands, she was mindlessly playing with her fingers, as she interlocked, and then split them apart. She had large rolling tears in her eyes, and as they rolled down her cheeks, they left a long wet trail in their wake. Even standing in the doorway watching this scene unfold form a distance, I could feel the hurt emanating from that corner of the room. I tapped on the door and poked my head in further, considering Zoey hadn't noticed it the first time. "Zoey?" I asked softly as she sat perfectly erect, roughly wiping her teary eyes.

"Yeah…" She said in a really quiet, but horse voice. "Come in, Ellis."

I opened the door, slid in, and then closed it with an audible click behind me. I gently unrolled my sleeping bag onto the floor, more towards the wall than the cot where Zoey lay. She raised a questioning brow at me in response, asking an unspoken question. "Rochelle told me to stay with you tonight…"I said, rubbing my neck as I sat down at the edge of the cot on the hard wood floor. "Ya know, in case you need anythin' tonight."

She nodded, the sad expression on her face unchanged. As I situated myself on the floor, I gently nudged the cot. Zoey winced and hissed through her clenched teeth, her entire face scrunching up. I jumped back in surprise. 'What, what is it?" I asked as her features relaxed second by second. "Did I hurt 'cha?"

Zoey shook her head no. "What happened then?" I asked.

She unclenched her features, and took a deep, unsteady breath. "I busted my ankle. You jostled the bed, it jostled my leg. Intense pain as all. I don't have a med kit, so I couldn't wrap it. That sucker _hurts_ let me tell you something." She said as she gingerly pulled the sleeping bag she had draped over her leg off. As she exposed her legs, I heard myself take in a sharp intake of breath. Her ankle was huge and a dark, sickening shade of deep purple.

"Jesus, Zoey…" I breathed out, kneeling down. I looked her ankle over. That was a definite fracture, but it looked like the healing process had just started. I didn't risk turning her leg to inspect it further, because I didn't wish to cause her any pain. "When did this happen? It looks fairly new…"

She shrugged. "Hell if I know when I actually did it. But I think it was either yesterday or the day before when I snapped it. Can you do anything for it? It hurts really, really bad…" She almost whimpered the last part.

"Yeah…" I said, retrieving my med kit form my back. "I'll see what I can do. It's not gonna feel good though…" I said with skeptism. The thought of hurting her, hurt me almost as much.

"I don't care…" She whimpered out. "Please just do something for it… It hurts _so _bad!" She lied herself back, her small chest rising and falling at a quick rate.

I set my health pack on the floor next to her foot, and then sat down. "I have plenty of gauze in here, and there are even some pain pills. Can you take them without water?"

She took a deep breath and brought herself back to a sitting position, balancing her weight on her elbows. "Yes, I can take them dry. Can you wrap my ankle?"

I took out the bottle of pills and shook out three. That was twice as much as the recommended dosage, but with the pain I was imagining she was in, she was going to need every last one. I handed them to her, and she took them gently from my palm, popping them into her mouth and sighing.

"Okay." I said as I pulled out the large roll of gauze and the fasteners. "The pills take about twenty minutes to kick in, but you'll feel great when they do. But for now, just lie back and Imma wrap this nasty fracture up, and it'll heal lots quicker."

Zoey nodded as she leaned back, sighing. I unrolled the gauze, and bit off a piece. Gingerly, I rolled up her pant leg as she hissed in agony. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I said nervously. It was really the only comfort I had to offer her.

She shook her head against the cot. "S'okay. Just… keep going."

I turned back to the gauze, and taking the piece I'd bitten off, I began wrapping her pain. Zoey's sharp intake of breath hissed out through her teeth. "I'm sorry, Zoey. I really am." I grabbed a fastener, and adjusted that piece. Good, now to cause her more pain. I grabbed the roll, and bit off a second piece. I would need a good three, maybe even four pieces for this.

Gingerly lifting her leg, I brought the gauze around, wrapping it a second time. Zoey held her breath, small whimpers of great pain escaping her throat. "Hang in there." I said encouragingly. "Yer doin' great, girl." I applied the second fastener. "Just one more, I think. And then you'll be all fixed up nice like."

I bit off a final piece of gauze, and wrapped it. Zoey moaned in agony, her upper half contorting in sheer pain. "Relax, relax." I said, as I applied the fastener. "Alright, we're all done here." I took the remaining roll of gauze and shoved it back into the health kit. I zipped it, and placed it atop the small dresser.

Zoey was gripping the cot, her face contorted in pain as hot tears rolled silently down her cheeks. I crawled to the head of the cot and gingerly sat down, not jostling anything. Zoey released the cot, and opened her eyes to look at me. "Hey sunshine." I offered her a quick smile. But the pain didn't leave her face, and the tears didn't stop. My smile faded, and I found myself frowning instead.

"Ellis…" Zoey choked out between her short, choppy breaths. "Ellis, please kill me. Shoot, stab me, I don't care what you do. Just please…if you care, kill me."

I shook my head as my heart skipped three, maybe four beats. "I could never do that Zoey. Why would you ask that? You crazy? I know you're hurtin', girl. But I'm sorry. I ain't gonna kill ya."

Zoey sobbed out loud. Her body jerked and she thrashed. "Hey, hey, hey now…" I said gently, holding down her arms. She looked me dead in the face, tears in her red eyes. "You are special, Zoey. How could I risk killing the world's most badass girl? You may be the last woman on earth, next to Rochelle. Now, I know you must be both physically and emotionally at your breaking point. Trust me on this one, so am I. Hell, I've thought about killin' off myself, sure, I ain't gonna lie 'bout that. But Zoey…" I said as I looked her dead in the eyes, my expression softening, and my tone dropping. "You are beautiful, smart, and look great with a gun. You have survived this far, so why give up? Sure things are lookin' pretty shitty right now, I'll be the first to admit that. But you know what? You're alive and you're not one of them sonsofbitches I've been pickin' off everyday ay of my life since all this shit happened. So please don't ask me, or Rochelle, or Nick or hell, _anybody _to kill you. Because you're not one of them, and things'll get better with time, I promise you that."

Zoey started crying again as she wiggled free of my arms and sat up. "Can…can you do me a favor then…please?" She asked, her tone soft and sad.

"Sure, whatdya need?"

"Can you just…hold me? Just for a bit…I've been so alone…and I just need…need some…comfort…please…"

"C'mere." I said as I pulled her delicately into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck tightly, and cried into my shoulders, as she buried her face in my neck. I wrapped my arms around her small back and rubbed soothing circles. This moment felt right, it felt good. I had the woman of my dreams in my arms, and even though she was hurting, at least she knew we were hurting together.

{**Later**}

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but it was quite a long time. Eventually Zoey let go, but she told me to just stay with her, that she wanted me around. I complied of course. Leaning against the wall, Zoey rested her head against my shoulder. She took my hand in hers, and held it tightly. I rubbed circles on the top of her hand with my thumb. Very few tears dripped onto my shirt as she cried less and less. I took my free hand and draped in around her shoulders, rubbing and gently squeezing her shoulder. She relaxed as time went by, and she sighed into me. Eventually, she started getting fatigued as the pills kicked in. She slid further down, not seeming to be bothered by her ankle anymore. Resting her head on my chest, Zoey snuggled into me as I kept my arms wrapped loosely around her small frame. She didn't say much at all. But when she had stopped crying, we both enjoyed a comfortable silence.

The rain continued to piss down as it thudded against the still glass plated windows of the safehouse. It was almost calming. The gentle rhythm of Zoey and my breathing, her steady heartbeat, and the rain on the window. I sighed. Somehow, this moment felt so imperfect, but so perfect.

"Hey Ellis?" Zoey asked out of the blue, her voice so soft, I almost didn't hear it.

"Mmm?" I said gently, rubbing circles on her arm.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked quietly, sounding soft and insecure. Like she was telling me a secret.

"Anythin'." I replied gently.

"Francis and Louis…" She began, pausing as she sucked in a deep gulp of air. "They're both dead."

I stiffened and froze. How was I supposed to respond to that? 'I'm sorry' just seemed too generic and cold hearted to me. "Jesus Zoey…" I breathed, my heart rate picking up speed. I had to choose my words carefully. "When did this happen?"

She sighed, seeming like she was fighting back tears. Thunder rumbled outside. "Since about a week after you guys left." Her body started to gently shake, but she didn't remove herself from me, instead she grabbed tow fistfuls of my shirt, and held tightly. I rubbed her back, pulling her a little bit closer to me.

"What happened to you guys?" I whispered, my voice cracking a bit.

"After you guys left, we got into a little argument about the fact that we should have gone with you. It would have been better for all of us. When we weren't paying attention, a tank somehow managed to climb up the bridge. I stood to grab my gun, but since it had rained, I slipped, leaving me dangling off of the edge. I was hoping, well, more excepting the tank o go for me first. But he didn't. Instead, he went to Louis, and because his leg was still in bad condition, he couldn't escape. That goddamn thing punched Louis clean off the bridge, and sent him plummeting, unconscious into the water nearly a hundred feet below. He was dead when he hit the water, and I dangled there, watching helpless. Luckily, Francis stepped in with a grenade launder and blasted the stupid thing to bits. Next thing I knew, he helped me up and we were feeling. Neither of us knew where we were, or where we were going. We then decided we needed to find you guys. So we ran through Rayford, going from place to place. Then I noticed something was off about Francis. He was slower, and didn't talk much. We had to stop all the time and rest. It worried me. Then one night we were in a safehouse. He was lying on a sleeping bag when I noticed the bite mark on his shoulder. It had been concealed by his vest, but when he took it off, I could see it, plain as day. He'd been bitten by a Hunter, and he wasn't immune to that, I guess. He was poisoned and died that night. I've been wandering alone ever since then, trying to find you guys…." I could feel the tears pouring out of her eyes. "And then when I got here, I snapped my ankle, so the first night I was here, I slept on the floor, all by myself. I was so scared, Ellis. I was scared that I was going to die that night. I was wet, and cold, and I hurt all over. My heart hurts, Ellis…"

I felt tears leaking out of my eyes. Zoey sat up and looked me dead in the face. She threw her arms around my neck again, and cried into me. I wrapped her in a really tight, comforting embrace. And we sat there together, crying. Normally, I never would have cried like that. But I felt the hurt Zoey felt. I felt it in every ounce of me, and I ached for her. I ached for her to stop hurting because I hated to see her cry.

I rubbed her back gently as her sobbing turned into strangled breaths and then into nothing more than silent tears. "Shh, shh. Don't cry anymore, please Zoey…" I sighed and rested my cheek against the top of her head. "I know how much you hurt, girl, I feel your pain. Please don't cry… I know, I know…"

And so we sat like that once again, but only for a few minutes this time. Zoey pulled away and looked me dead on in the face again, tear streaks running down her face. I frantically wiped her red, tired eyes, and sighed. She was still so beautiful. "Don't cry, Zoey." I whispered to her gently as I shook my head softly. My hands were resting on her back still rubbing slow, soothing circles. I thought she was going to say something when she took a deep breath in, but what she did after that shocked me so much, I thought I may faint.

Zoey's POV:

I leaned forward and smashed my lips to Ellis's. He seemed taken aback at first, but he complied as I worked his lips with my own. The rain continued outside, and it set a nice, moody background.

After only a few moments of kissing, Ellis began to pull away, but I wasn't having any of that. I gripped the nape of his neck, keeping his mouth glued to mine. His lips were soft, and they tasted like Heaven. He had a really woodsy, almost musk scent to him that was distinctively his. It was calming, homey, and delicious. His lips had almost the same taste to them, but it was sweeter, and somewhat softer, like silk.

His lips molded with mine, and our mouths fit together like two puzzle pieces. My entire body was tingling as Ellis's large, warm hands held tightly to my back as he pulled me towards him. I was pressed against his chest, and I could feel his steady heartbeat. This was comforting in its own way.

As the kiss progressed, I began to question myself and why I did this. It seemed like a desperate cry for companionship, when I realized that it was actually what we both craved, and with all of the combined hurt we shared, we both _needed _it. And Ellis, although I knew absolutely nothing about him, I wanted him for myself. He felt right with me, and I'd been denying myself, hiding my feelings, just shoving it down for much too long. I could tell he'd doing the same things as there was a huge release of pent up energy as Ellis brought his hands up to cup my face.

His lips moved softer against mine now, just gentle pecks full of a loving, comforting message that red, 'I'm here for anything you need.' I sighed into the kiss we were sharing, not wanting it to end. I reached my hands up, and removed the little blue cap on his head, putting it to the side. I tangled my fingers in his wispy caramel hair.

He sighed softly into me, and I tugged gently on his hair, bringing his lips even closer to mine. Without breaking the kiss, I leaned back, bringing Ellis with me. He lied himself on top of me, supporting all of his weight with his arms. His hands still gently cupped my face, while mine tangled into his hair.

Ellis's lips softened against mine dramatically as he pulled his lips away, his mischievous blue eyes sparking like jewels. "Zoey…" He whispered, leaning his head down, and laying his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes and drank in his scent and the closeness. I felt his warmth, and it just sucked me right in. "You know how I feel about you, right?" His voice was a whisper, but it was a smooth as silk, drawing me in. I decided I had nothing to lose now. If the feelings were there, I had to stop ignoring them. Stop pretending that if I pushed them down, they go away and not come back. But that was the old Zoey. And this was the new Zoey.

"Yes…" I whispered to him, one hand leaving his hair to hold the nape of his neck, and pull his lips to mine for one quick, tender kiss. Then another. And then a third.

"Then…Is…this really….such…a…hot…idea?" I breathed out between kisses. Although he was kind of acting like he against the idea, I could tell he was all for it. And for that, I was thankful.

I glued my lips to his for a moment, enjoying the perfection that was him. "Yes…it's a great…idea…" I breathed out against his mouth as I trailed my tongue against his bottom lip. A light shudder rippled though him, and straight into me.

Ellis sighed. "Zoey…" Her murmured as he pressed his lips to mine. "You ain't really meaning this…You're hurt, and you need this. And I have to admit, I reckon I do as well. But I don't want to get hurt…because my feelings for you are real, Zoey…"

I nodded as his mouth moved from my lips down my jaw and to my throat where he began to place a series of kisses from my throat to my collarbone. I sighed in pure pleasure as his lips expertly navigated on me. Both of my hands once again returned to his hair, tugging gently.

"Ellis…" I whispered to him.

"Mmm?" He breathed into the hollow of my throat.

"I do have feelings for you…I would never have done this, never have placed my trust in you if I didn't. I don't want to hurt you, honest…"

I could feel Ellis smiling as he placed a final kiss on my collarbone. "That's all I needed to hear." He smiled softly at me, his eyes sparkling. "I believe you, Zoey…" He whispered closing his eyes as his lips swooped down to capture mine once again.

We spent a good fifteen minutes kissing after my little 'confession.' Nothing hot and heavy, just light tender kisses and gentle pecks. I couldn't seem to get enough of Ellis once I'd had just the smallest taste. That night, I asked him to stay with me on the cot. The pills had kicked in long before, plus the rush from kissing Ellis had me all but forget about my ankle. As I settled down the sleep, I realized it wasn't enough to just have Ellis with me. I needed some form of physical contact. I was ready to give up on everything in my world, then suddenly comes this guy I barely know, and the moment his lips touch mine, or vice versa, I know everything about him, and he knows everything about me. Sure we weren't a 'thing', I mean, c'mon, this wasn't Junior High. But I could tell we were headed in the direction. Because what I felt for Ellis was real and pure and good, and I didn't want to stop feeling it. I'd never felt that way with anybody, _ever_.

As the rain patted gently against the window, I sighed. "Ellis?" I whispered in the dark. I could feel him sitting up.

"What's a matter, Zo?" He asked softly.

"Nothing…" I said. "But could you please come closer? Unless you don't want to…that's okay too… I just thought…"

I felt a finger press to my lips as Ellis scooted over on the cot to me. He was careful about my ankle, and not to move me too much. When He was close to me, I scooted over slightly and closed the small remaining gap between us. I found that he had taken his shirt off, and I could feel his bare chest beneath me as I rested my head on him. Ellis wrapped both of his arms around me in an embrace, as his deep even breathing and steady heartbeat calmed me. Something about Ellis's presence had this uncanny effect to just instantly calm me down and make me feel better. I can't say I'd even felt _that _before with anybody either.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around Ellis's midsection. He was so warm, when I was in his arms it was like I was in my own little piece of warm, tropical paradise right there. As the rain outside the window refused to let up, I let all my bad memories, all my worries, all my guilt, _everything _I'd been carrying seemed to just slip away and fade into a hazy uncertainty. I bid all of it a good riddance, and feel into the deepest, most restful sleep I'd ever had in my entire lifetime.

I awoke some time later to the early morning sun rising over the horizon, throwing amber waves through the glass, and sending them dancing around the room. I sighed, and draped one of my arms over my eyes, trying to lock in the darkness. It wasn't quite time to be awake yet. As feeling seeped slowly into my body, I groaned. My ankle was throbbing pretty terribly this morning, and I swore I could actually feel the fracture in the bone. That was more or less a rude awakening.

I sighed and patted the bed beside me, looking for Ellis. When I discovered it empty, and slightly cold, I felt my heart sink. He had been there last night…Where would he have gone? I honestly had no idea why this bothered me so much, but it did. My heart ached a little bit as I realized I was alone once again. I suddenly regretted kissing him last night, and confessing my feelings. Maybe I was too much. Maybe after kissing me, he realized what a mess I was, and that he just shouldn't even get involved. I sighed. I strained me ears and listened, and heard soft voices wafting up the stairs. Obvisously they hadn't left yet, so that put my mind at rest a tiny bit. Although as I thought about it a bit more, I began to worry about them leaving me alone…

After pondering where Ellis was for a bit, I decided I had to get up anyways, I couldn't lie around forever. I needed to ask Rochelle when we were heading out. I brought my arm down from my eyes, and then pushed myself up gently, shaking the cot a bit as I struggled. I grunted and groaned, as my stiff joints snapped and cracked. I tried my very hardest not to move my ankle too much, but that couldn't be averted. "Shit…" I moaned out softly.

When I was sitting upright, I moved myself backwards and rested against the small. I was slightly out of breath, my physical strength still not up to snuff. I sighed and took a deep, steady breath as there was a light rap on my door. "Come in." I said quietly as the door swung in. Ellis poked his head in, and my heart skipped a beat. I felt some of the tension releasing from my shoulders a bit.

"Mornin' Zo." He had a huge smile on his face as he pushed the rest of the door open. In his hands he carried a bowl, and a cup. My stomach growled, I hadn't acknowledged how hungry I'd become. I stared at the bowl of food in his hands. I didn't care what it was, I wanted it. As Ellis came farther into the room, he kicked the door closed with his foot, and I noticed he wasn't wearing his truck cap, or his shirt. I snuck a few quick glances at his chest, and then took in his wet hair. It hung slightly in his face, and it was a deeper brown, and wispier than usual, but it maintained the soft curl at the base.

He sat down next to me on the bed very carefully, placing the bowl in my lap. "How you'd sleep last night? You were tossin' and turnin' a lot, but you seemed like you were out cold."

I shrugged. "I slept like a baby." But I didn't mention how much I felt like one as well. "It's been quite some time since I slept so well." I yawned, still in the process of waking up.

Ellis nodded, digesting this. A smile broke out on his face again, revealing his extraordinarily straight, white teeth. His smile was dazzling, I'd give him that much. Ellis pulled a spoon out of his pockets, and placed it in my bowl. "I brought you up some food. Thought you might kinda be hungry." He shrugged. "It's just cereal from the stash downstairs. Rochelle found a couple of clean bowls, cups, spoons, plates, and forks. Anyways…" He said. I eyed the cup in his hand. "This is just water. Tap of course. But it's perfectly fine, I even tested it." He winked at me. "We gotta protect each other." The smile danced on his lips again as he handed me the cup.

I took it, and brought the brim to my lips, sucking down the water greedily. The water had a slight metallic taste to it, but it was cold and refreshing, and above all, it was water goddamnit. In twenty seconds flat, I'd downed the entire cup, and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Moisture returned to a normal level in my mouth.

Ellis raised an eyebrow at me. "Jesus Zoey…" he laughed. "You thirsty there?"

I laughed right along with him, feeling a slight blush as I realized how animalistic that was. "Yeah, a bit."

"How's the ankle?" He asked as I handed him the cup back. He placed it on the floor by my cot. I shrugged.

"Been better, but not as bad."

He nodded. "Good to hear."

I gave a simple, "mmhm" and then dove into my bowl of cereal, shoveling it into my mouth. Ellis gave me a curious look, but when I raised my eyebrow in question, he just shook his head and laughed. I shrugged, and polished off my bowl, feeling full and content. Ellis took the empty bowl and spoon and placed those on the floor alongside with the cup.

"So how do ya feel now?" He asked, gently taking my hand.

An electric spark surged through me where his skin connected with mine. "I'm feeling pretty good." I said honestly.

Ellis nodded and then looked down where he was holding my hand. "Erm…" he said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "You don't…you don't mind...do you?"

I giggled at his nervous behavior. As much as I hated to admit it, human contact, _especially _this, was what I'd been craving. It's what I'd needed all along, and I was done, absolutely, utterly, 100% _done_ with denying it to myself. I shook my head. "Of course not."

Ellis smiled. "Okay, great." He looked up to meet his gaze to mine. His eyes were a brighter blue this morning, with more playfulness in them. It was cute in a boyish sort of way. Kind of made me want to have a tickle fight. Weird.

We sat for a few moments in still silence as I noticed it had stopped raining outside. "Did it finally stop raining?"

"Yep, 'bout time too. Damn sky has been pissin' it down for days. I was gettin' sick of the shit." He laughed.

"So are we leaving this safehouse then?"

"Well, I dunno…" Ellis rubbed his chin, and then the back of his neck again. "How are you to walk?"

"I can win a one-legged sack race?" I offered, laughing at my sad attempt to make a joke.

Ellis frowned. "Well, we have to leave by tomorrow at the latest then. We're heading West from here, not sure where to, but somewhere. Luckily, we still got the Jimmy Gibbs and it's not that crowded with the three of us. Nick and Ro like to sit in the back. You can sit up in the front with me. But it's not exactly luxury…"

I nodded in understanding. "Alright. I don't need luxury, just as long as I don't have to walk."

Ellis offered a simple. "Mmm" before we returned to sitting in the easy silence. Ellis stared out the window, a calm look painted on his features, his body at ease. His hand was still holding mine.

"Hey Ellis?" I asked, my voice soft. I felt a rush of blood shoot to my cheeks.

He turned to look at me. "Yessum?"

I touched his cheek with my free hand, and he covered my hand with his. I leaned forward and rested my forehead against his, breathing in deeply. His hand let go of mine, then he placed it on me waist, holding me comfortably. I cupped his face with both of my hands, sighing.

"What's wrong, darlin'?" Ellis whispered, closing his eyes.

"Nothing…" I whispered back. "Just enjoying the moment."

"Mmm, I couldn't agree more." His breath washed over me, sweet and cool, making my mouth water.

I turned my head slightly, and gently tapped my lips to Ellis's. He sighed, and I felt his body slump a bit in relaxation. He pushed his lips to mine with more force than I started out with. I pulled his face closer to mine, bringing his lips to me. I didn't understand why I kept doing this. But for whatever reason I did, I was glad I did it. Some very dormant part of me awakened, and I felt good about everything, if only for a moment. Ellis was my guilty pleasure, and I felt bad because I was using him in a sense. But the more I thought about it, and trust me, I thought about it, the more the idea of not letting him go seemed…well, perfect. I wanted him with me. So if I wasn't planning on just kissing him a few times to feel good, then maybe I wasn't such a terrible person after all.

Ellis pulled his lips off of mine, and then pulled back, shaking his head gently and sighing. I felt a sort of hurt look cross my face. But I ignored it, and put a hand to his cheek as he looked down.

"What's the matter, Ellis?" I asked sadly.

He placed his hand over mine and patted it gently, removing it from his cheek. My heart lurched, but not in a good way. His fingers tangled in mine softly before he left go of my hand. Suddenly, my skin felt a good twenty degrees cooler. I felt sort of hurt in a way, and though I tried to ward it off, my eyes betrayed me and let out those salty drops of liquid I despised.

"Oh no, Zoey…" Ellis whispered, frantically wiping my eyes with his hot thumbs. "I didn't mean to hurt you none. I'm sorry. I just…this feels…um, what's the word? Off…I guess…" He said, taking a deep in breath through his mouth, holding it, and then sighing.

"What does?" I asked, looking in his eyes. He looked sort of…remorseful.

"This…" He gestured between his body and mine. "It just seems like it's…eh…um…too much too fast, I guess."

"Is it…is it me?"

He shook his head vigorously. "No, no. 'Course not! It's just that, well, in all honestly, we don't know shit 'bout one another. And it feels like we're sort of a thing, and I just, I dunno." He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I still feel the same way 'bout cha, and I never thought that anything like _this _could happen. But, _shit_, it has. And now I know we could be somthin' great together, Zo. But just not yet. You see what I'm sayin'?"

I nodded, actually understanding. "So what you're saying is we _could _become something, and that your feelings haven't changed for me, _but _it's just too soon…"

Ellis nodded. "Exactly."

"Oh." I paused, pursing my lips. "I agree with what you're saying. God, I don't know what I was thinking just kissing you on an impulse like that…" I shook my head, my ponytail wagging. "Can you forgive me? I feel like I just messed up any chance of us becoming friends…"

Ellis chuckled, a deep throaty chuckle that made his entire frame shake. "It ain't like I didn't enjoy it or nutin'…" He paused to laugh, but then got serious. "But don't think that, Zoey. I completely and totally understand why you acted so." He made a gesture with his hand. "But it ain't gonna mess up nothin' between us. We can pretend it didn't happen, and just start fresh, huh?"

I nodded, smiling in spite of myself. If we started fresh, I would have time to actually comprehend how I truly felt about Ellis, and not just go off of the butterflies in my tummy. "Sounds good. Just forget it then. We'll start fresh, and disregard any pervious actions…Including mine from the bridge." I jutted my hand out. "Deal?"

Ellis clasped my hand, and gave it a firm shake, and he smiled. "Deal."

"Alrighty…" I said. "So what now?"

Ellis shrugged. "We could just sit and shoot the breeze? We ain't got nothin' but time today."

"Sure." I said, smiling. I thought the way he talked was interesting, it was nothing like I'd really heard before. "Why not?"

"So…" He said, leaning back against the wall and bringing one leg up, before resting his elbow on his knee. "Anything you want to talk about in particular?"

I shook my head. "Not really, no. What about you?"

"Actually, yes, I do have somethin'." Ellis reached into his pocket, digging around for a moment, before he extracted something silver. "This…uh…Nick and I found this one this guys' body, way back in Rayford, when we were fillin' up the generators…"

Ellis took one of my hands and placed a pair of dog tags into my palm as he continued. "You'd said you lost a man…and since his body was…uh…_fresh_, we assumed it was him. The jacket said Oversomething…" He trailed off.

I turned the silver necklace over in my hands. It made a soft tinkling sound. Running my fingers of the printed writings, I felt my mouth was open, and my jaw was on the floor. I could not believe it. Why did Ellis have these?

"He was a mess…and for the life of me, I can't remember the name on the jacket! Over…Over…Overbuck?"

I shook my head. "Overbeck. William Overbeck."

"That's right…" Ellis said. "Poor guy…"

"Why did you take these?" I blurted out at Ellis, feeling the pain and searing anger begin to seep into me. "Why didn't you just leave them on his body?"

Ellis kept a straight face. "I was hopin' one day I would find ya again and be able to hand 'em over." He sighed. "I thought it was the right thing to do."

"Jesus Christ Ellis!" I blurted out, clasping my hand around the silver tightly, suddenly feeling mad at everyone and everything. 'What if you'd never found me again? What would you have done? You _knew _you weren't going to come back through Rayford when you left…And yet you thought we'd meet again? Like….like so shitty romance novel where to two star-crossed lovers are separated but reunited with a great treasure?" I could feel the anger rolling off me in waves. I knew I shouldn't be lashing out at Ellis, yet I couldn't help myself.

"That's not what I thought Zoey…" He shrugged. "I don't know what I was thinking…But I somehow knew in my gut we'd meet again, and I thought you'd be happy…"

I took a deep shaky breath. "Look, sorry about lashing out. It's still raw…still hard to deal with. Thank you, Ellis. I really do appreciate this…It's nice…" I placed the tags over my head and dangled them around my neck, keeping them close to my heart. I'd protect these with my own life, considering they were the only thing I had left.

Ellis nodded. "I don't know what possessed me to take 'em. But I'm glad it was somethin' nice I could do. Givin' any consolation."

I wrapped my arms around Ellis's neck. "Thank you…this really means a lot."

Ellis patted my back gently. "You're welcome, darlin'. I hope it made you hurt a 'lil less…"

I nodded into his shoulder. "It provides some closure, actually. And that's a comfort all on its own." I pulled away, and gently fingered the silver pieces.

Ellis smiled gently at me. Suddenly, Rochelle burst into the room, sweat dripping off of her forehead, a panic striken look etched deep into her features.

"Ellis!" She cried. "Quick! We have to leave… _now!_"

"What happened, Ro?" Ellis asked, standing up.

"We got company…. And a lot of it! We're almost out of ammo, and I think there is a safehouse East of here. Get Zoey into the car, we gotta go! I'll go stash the leftover food and get Nick and myself in the back. Hurry!" She ran out the door, and then thudded downstairs. Yelling something I couldn't understand to Nick. Ellis looked worried. I could faintly hear the distant howl of a hoard, and Ellis must have heard it too by the way the sweat pricked his skin.

"Shit, shit, _shit_!" He cried. "Hang on Zoey!" He bent down to me, and picked me up. "Sorry if I hurt 'cha, but we gotta go!"

I held onto him tightly as he walked down the stairs and out the door, to the small driveway where Rochelle was placing stuff in the back. Ellis sat me gently on the passenger side, closing the door behind him. Rochelle threw him his faded yellow shirt as he quickly pulled it over his head, and tucked it in. She handed him his cap as well and he settled it gently on his head. Nick was already in the back , trying to reload an AK-47.

I was watching all of them rush around as I sat helpless and crippled by my ankle. Rochelle ducked into the back of the car and started whispering to Nick.

"Rochelle?" I asked. "What can I do to help?"

Rochelle shook her head. "Just sit tight, Zoey. We've got it covered." She crawled into the back. Since everybody was kind of focused on what was going on inside the car, nobody noticed until it was too lat what was going on _outside _of the car.

A wail echoed around us as a charger appeared out of nowhere.

"Charger!" Ellis screamed as it ran right towards him, picking him up of the ground and running him about two feet before crashing into the house. The charger started bashing Ellis into the ground. We were all frozen as we watched the horror unfold. "It's got me!" He cried, bashing his fists against the charger's hand.

It took Ellis's cry to shake us three out of the shock. "Help!" Ellis cried, struggling and trying unsuccessfully to wriggle out o the charger's grasp. "This thing is bashin' me into _shit!_"

"Goddamnit!" Nick cried. He started pushing his way out of the car.

"It's killin' me!" Ellis cried as his body went limp. He was no longer moving, and I feared his words were true.

Nick finally got out of the car, and pumped the entire clip into the charger. It fell to the ground with a final whine and died. Ellis lied limply on the ground, a pool of blood forming around me.

Nick bent down to Ellis. "Hey, champ…" I heard him sigh. "How ya doing?"

"Oh, man. Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man, oh, man..." Ellis moaned. "I could go for a nap right now…" I barely heard him say as his head lolled to the side and he shut his eyes.

"Ellis?" Nick tapped Ellis on the face lightly a few times, before shaking his shoulder. "Ellis?"

Ellis opened his eyes. He groaned. "Damn…I hurt so bad I don't even _see_ right."

"We have to get you a first aid kit, Ellis." Nick said in a business-like tone. "You're bleeding…"

Rochelle hopped out of the car, and ran over to Ellis and Nick. I could only watch helplessly through the window.

"You're going to be okay, Ellis!" Rochelle said. She bent down, and it took both her and Nick to get Ellis back on his feet. I heard him moaning loudly in pain as they brought him to his feet. A small pool of blood was left where his body was, and his shirt had a large bloodstain on it.

"We need to go, now…" Rochelle said as she held one end of Ellis, and Nick held the other while he limped to the car. Rochelle's legs shook under his weight. The helped him into the front seat as I scooted over to the driver's side.

"Yep…" Ellis groaned. "I'm hurt a'plenty…" He closed his eyes. "I'm all tuckered out…"

"Ellis, sweetie? You need to keep your eyes open…Do not go to sleep, you hear me?" Rochelle slid me over as she slid into the driver's side. "We don't have time to switch seats now. Just get comfy in the back Nick. Zoey, sorry if you're crushed, dear." Rochelle turned the keys that were already in the ignition. She started the car, and then backed quickly out of the drive, peeling out. "Good…" she mumbled. "We have enough gas…"

Nick sat in the back, leaning forward, holding Ellis' hat in his hands. I hadn't even noticed he'd picked it up, or when it had fallen off of Ellis's head.

Ellis leaned his head against the window. Blood seeped through his shirt. "I gotta misery in my bones!"

"Stay strong, baby…" Rochelle said, keeping her eyes on the road. Suddenly, and idea popped into my head.

"Ellis…" I said. "I need to remove your shirt."

"Mm…'kay?" He slurred out as his eyes fluttered.

I grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. There was a deep gash in his side that was bleeding profusely. There were large purplish blue marks forming around his midsection where the charger's hand was. His skin was losing color quicker than I could work. I bit my lip. "Nick?" I asked. "Slap him. He's falling asleep."

Nick brought his hand up and gave Ellis a quick, sharp slap on the face.

"Ow-how-how-how!" Ellis screamed.

"Sorry, buddy. Put you can't fall asleep."Nick patted him on the shoulder. "Keep those eyes open, or I'll do it again."

"'Kay…" Ellis said softly.

I bent down and began making quick work of unwrapping the gauze from my ankle. My ankle screamed in protest, but I ignored the pain, and yanked the rest of the gauze off. Turning to Ellis, I wrapped the gauze around the deep gash, applying heavy pressure. Ellis's features seized up as I applied the pressure progressively harder.

"That's so tender, Zoey!" Ellis moaned.

"I know…I know…" I said. "I'm sorry. But I _really _need to stop the bleeding. So hold still, please Ellis."

It took a good five minutes before I stopped the bleeding. Ellis's face was a ghostly pale, his lips turning slightly blue. The breaths he took in were shallow and ragged, and I could hear his heart hammering in his chest. A cold sweat broke out across his forehead and he began to shake. "Zoey…" he murmured. "Zoey, I'm really cold…Is that supposed to happen?"

I shook my head. "You're suffering from blood loss." Ellis whimpered. The gauze on his side was stained a deep maroon. "Shh, shh, Ellis it's okay. You're going to be fine…"

"C…ca…can I go…can I…s…sleep? Now?" He shivered and stuttered, his voice slurred. I looked to Rochelle and she nodded. Elli's body slumped over, and soon he was resting his head on my shoulder, breathing labored and uneven.

"Yes, Ellis. Close your eyes and go to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." Ellis mumbled something unintelligible, and then his eyes slipped shut. I ran my fingers through his hair, and found a large lump on the back of his head. I worried he may have a concussion.

Rochelle sighed, and Nick slumped against the back seat. "I hope wherever we are going has first aid kits…we're gonna need them…" Rochelle whispered. I turned and looked at Ellis.

Nick sighed from the back seat. The car continued down the road as I swore I heard the faint roar of a tank in the distance.

**[A/N: Three days. Three days it took me to finish this! But who cares? It was totally worth it! And it has a grand total of 8,664 words, which was over double what I originally predicted. That's pretty good, eh? Anyways, what did you think? I had so many ideas for this chapter, and I didn't get to squeeze everything I originally had planned in. I got a good chunk of it though, so that's a win. What did you think of Ellis and Zoey's decisions? I personally think it's responsible, but that means no EllisxZoey action for the next few chapters. Boo. But I may slip some gentle stuff in there, and as time goes, I promise you, it **_**will **_**get much better. And what about poor Ellis? The poor guy got bashed into shit by that damn charger. And trust me, every single time I play, some karma charger comes out of nowhere and freaking ambushes me! Plus, special infected like Ellis…a little too much. Anybody who has played as Ellis knows what I'm talking about. Anyways, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! Until next chapter! XOXO Oh, and one final thought; I apologize for the typos if they are there.]**


	3. Chapter 3

**[A/N: Hey again everybody, how y'all doing? So I've been pretty steadily updating, and I promise you, as soon as the inspiration comes, I'll update Strength in Numbers. I'm at a loss for the next chapter for that, but something'll come to me. Anyways, I'm also thinking about a new story, but more in that later. So little recap; Ellis and Zoey are taking in slow, Ellis gets Karma Charged, and the group is headed east to the nearest safehouse. I warn you, this chapter might be kind of emotional. Or maybe not. We'll see. Enjoy!]**

Ellis's POV:

_Zoey!_ I screamed in my head, the lines in my forehead returning as I scrunched up my features. Damn, I hurt all over. I didn't think it was physically possible to hurt _so _much at one time. This broke the 1-10 scale of pain at about a nineteen. Holy. Fucking. **SHIT**_._ _Zoey, darlin'! Please…wherever you are…just hold my hand and let me know I'm alive. Help me come to…It's so damn dark, I can't see a thing! Zoey! C'mon, girl…help a poor fella out, please? Damn, I'm so hurt…I'm never gonna feel any better….Zoey…UNGH! My back...I think the goddamn things' been busted…and my ribs…I think I'm gonna get sick. Somebody get me some pills…or a shot…_anything _to help with this pain…Jesus lord oh mighty…Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow goddamnit! _

I moaned softly as I tried to open my eyes, with no avail. I squinted, and then tried my very hardest to even flutter my eyes. I wanted to see light, but more importantly, see her, Zoey. She was becoming a big part of my life all of a sudden, and when she'd patched me up, unrolling her ankle bandages to stop my bleeding, ignoring her own pain, well I'd be damned if I didn't love this girl. And though I wanted her to be my future girlfriend, I knew in my heart things needed to slow the hell down, so neither of us started second guessing each other. A bitter alliance didn't flow with me too well. This girl was perfect for me. She could shoot a gun better than most men I'd seen, and she looked damn good doing it. Shit, she was perfect for all I knew.

I tried to move any part of me, but I couldn't find it. I literally could not find my own body. My head seemed to be detached from my body, and I began to wonder if I could survive without my body as a severed head. Man, this would be such a cool ass story to tell to Keith. He'd be pretty dumbfounded, and my lord, Keith was pretty dumb. I tried to laugh to myself, and ended up finding my chest was still attached to me…and I wished it wasn't. I could soon feel every breath I took it, my chest felt like was caved in. Or perhaps a tank was sitting on it. Either way, I couldn't really breathe once I felt again. Gah.

After I began to regain feeling in my chest, I soon felt it in my arms. My arms help like noodles. They were limply sprawled out on a soft, yet slightly jagged surface. It was warm, but not exactly comfortable. Yet, it wasn't uncomfortable either.

I could deal with the aching and throbbing in my arms and chest, but once feeling returned to my shoulders, I went off the deep end. My shoulders felt like they'd been busted, not just popped, but _busted _clean out of the sockets. A searing fire tore through them, and I wanted to yell out in pain….

…And so I did.

A felt something jump below me, and my eyes flew open. I still didn't have feeling in my waist or below, but after feeling my shoulders, I honestly didn't want to. A bright white flash hit my pupils as the dark blanket receded. I blinked a few times as my eyes watered at the sudden flash of light. But soon my vision returned, and I was surrounded by white walls with a ton of writing on them. I tried sitting up, but a pair of small hands held me down.

"Easy there, killer." A gentle voice said. I would recognize that melody anywhere. "You need to stay lying down."

"You…lied to me…" I croaked, finding my voice. It was rough and hoarse, my throat and mouth as dry as a bone. I swear I could taste dust…

Zoey leaned over and looked at me. I realized I was sprawled out on her lap. Her knees were pushing into my back slightly, but it was bearable. She raised an eyebrow. "I…I did?" She asked, clearly confused by my statement.

"Yeah…You said I'd feel better when I woke up. I assure you, miss, I feel one hundred percent worse!" My face was serious, but I could feel myself cracking a smile. Zoey rolled her eyes. "This musta' have been what Keith felt like every day of his life!" I started to laugh, but soon my chuckles turned into strangled breaths, and I couldn't breathe.

Zoey was quick to jump into action. She sat me up, and bent me over slightly. Air whooshed into my lungs, and I took in big swallows, hiccupping. She lied me back down onto her legs. And I still had yet to regain feeling in my own two.

"Shit…" I coughed out. "What in the hell just happened to me?" My breaths were picking up as I felt myself suffocating slightly. For a moment there, I thought I was going to asphyxiate. It was _not _a pleasant feeling in the slightest.

Zoey ran her fingers through my hair, calming me. "Shh, shh, Ellis. It's okay, just take a deep breath. Calm down… Just relax…" She trailed off, and my breathing returned to normal. She continued to stroke my hair. It felt absolutely amazing, and I almost moaned in pleasure, but instead let out a soft sigh. "That charger was a mean bastard." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "When he picked you up, and started smashing you, your chest caved in slightly. Part of your rib cage is cracked, and when you laugh, you lungs contract and expand. This causes them to, in a sense, get caught under your chest, and they can't deflate. I had to sit you up and bend you over because it takes some of the pressure off. Your lungs can deflate, and you can breathe. Make sense?"

I nodded. "So I can't laugh now?" I asked, frowning.

"Well…" she started, chewing her lip slightly. "I suppose you could, but it's really not for the best. Chuckling is okay, but not full out laughing. Sorry, Ellis." She grimaced.

"Then how am I gonna get any better?" I asked, nearly pouting. "Laugher is the best medicine, ain't it?"

Zoey smirked. "Yes, I suppose so. But your body will repair itself, you just need some time. It's going to be pretty uneventful for a while. We have to stay at this safehouse until your chest is repaired. If you can't even laugh, you can't run, or even walk for that matter." She sighed. "I'm really sorry about all this, Ellis. I wish I had been paying more attention. I should've been looking out for you…"

I rolled my eyes. "Please, Zoey. This ain't your fault. I shoulda been more careful, more observant. It is mostly my fault, but in the long run, it's that damn chargers fault!" I chuckled, coughing as I felt myself suffocating a bit. Zoey moved to sit me up, but I took a deep swallow of air, and then exhaled deeply. My breathing returned to normal as I continued. "Just relax your pretty little self, there. I'm fine." I smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Anywho, in a bit I'll be back to normal."

Zoey nodded. "Yeah, get well soon!" She winked. "It appears I forgot to get balloons…Oh well. Anyways, how are you feeling?"

"Where do I start?" I pondered out loud. "Well my chest feels like there is a tank sittin' on it…"

"That's to be expected." She shrugged. "I'll have to get you some pain pills for that, but I can't do too much else."

"My shoulders are on fire. I think they've been busted outta the sockets." I groaned as I tried moving my shoulders. That wasn't happening.

Zoey placed her hands on my collarbone. "Don't move them. Nick had to pop both your joint back in place. They're a bit messed up right now. But in a few days, they'll be fully healed. Just…stay still." Zoey leaned down and kissed my forehead. I felt heat rush to my cheeks. I didn't hurt as much anymore… "What about the rest of you? How do you feel? Anything numb at all? Any tingling sensations?"

"Well… I can't feel my legs…" I said, still having no feeling back in my legs. I could feel my waist, and my tailbone was definitely messed up something fierce.

Zoey's eyes got huge at my words. "Where can't you feel?" She asked, her eyes suddenly full of worry.

"Erm…pretty much from my waist down. I can feel my tailbone pretty good…that sucker freakin' hurts like all get-out-an-go."

"Hmm…" Zoey said, looking twice as concerned. "DO you mind if I sit you up real quick?"

"Naw, go right ahead." I volunteered.

Zoey sat me upright, and swung her legs out from under me. She pushed my shoulders ever so gently until my back was resting on what felt to be like a couch. I hadn't really noticed my surroundings at all. And frankly, I was a bit worried now more about my legs than where I was stationed at the moment. Just as long as Zoey and myself weren't in danger, I didn't really care either.

Zoey pushed herself gingerly off the couch, until she was on the floor. I noticed her ankle had been rewrapped. She bent down to my legs, and rolled up my pant leg. I noticed I wasn't wearing my boots. But I didn't have my jumper on, and my shirt was on as well. The bloodstain on the side I suddenly noticed was faded and almost gone now. Somebody must have washed my shirt while I was knocked out.

Zoey poked my leg. I didn't feel a goddamn thing. "Did you feel that?" She asked.

"No…" I said. Why couldn't I feel my own damn leg?

Zoey rolled up the other pant leg, and repeated the poking. "How about that?"

"Still nothin'." I sighed.

Zoey grunted, looking frustrated and worried.

"What's with the look?" I asked, more than just kind of concerned now.

"You were out for almost fifteen hours. Feeling should have come back when you felt it come to the rest of your body. This isn't right…" She shook her head and rolled down my pant leg. "I need to go get Rochelle. Just sit tight for a minute, I'll be right back."

Using the couch as leverage, Zoey pushed herself up, and grabbed a pair of makeshift crutches leaning against the wall. She brought them under her arms, wincing. I watched as she pushed away, groaning a bit as she did so.

I sighed. I know Zoey had told me to stay put, but not having feeling in both of my legs bothered me in ways I couldn't explain. I wondered if I tried walking, maybe I could make feeling return into them. I sighed, and then pushed my chest to the edge of the couch. Everything on my body screamed at me in protest, and I lay back for a moment. I got winded, and it took me a few seconds for my breath to return. Groaning, I pushed my body up, onto my legs. I got a slight twinge of sensation, but after that, nothing. Feeling top-heavy, I suddenly found myself dipping over and tumbling onto the floor, smacking my chest on the hard wood. The blow from the floor sent a surge of pain so strong through my entire body, or at least the parts I had feeling in, I lost all of the air in my lungs. I whooshed out of me, and soon I felt like I was suffocating again. Fluid began to rise in my throat as I struggled to breathe. Blood emptied out of my mouth onto the floor. The metallic taste clouded up my mouth, and a blanket of black took hold of me.

{**Hours Later…**}

"Ellis…" A worried voice called to me. It was Zoey, I knew her voice. "Ellis…please, open up your eyes…" I felt somebody gently shaking my body. Pain shot through me and I screamed out. My voice was gurgled by fluid in my throat, and I felt in come up and spill over the sides, leaving my mouth and throat dry and empty. Something dapped the corners of my mouth, and soon a passage to my lungs opened. I took in deep swallows of air, my lungs aching, and my chest hurting three hundred percent more.

"Sweet Jesus…" Zoey breathed. I opened my eyes fully, and met hers, looking terrified, pissed, and relieved all at once. "Are you trying to get yourself killed, Ellis?" She asked, panic in her tone. "Why did you try and walk? I told you to sit tight!" She breathed out a sigh, hugging my head to her chest. I closed my eyes, the pain almost unbearable.

"What happened?" I asked gently. I felt a shitfits coming on…induced by my own sheer stupidity.

"When you tried to get up and walk, you collapsed over. The impact as you hit the floor shattered one of your ribs, and it punctured one of your lungs. You've been throwing up blood in your unconscious state. Jesus Christ Ellis…when I came back and found you on the floor like that… I thought a hunter had gotten your or something. I blamed myself for leaving you alone, and I felt horrible. I thought you were going to die…" She paused holding back tears, and hugged me a bit tighter. "Don't do anything stupid like that again, okay? When I tell you to sit tight, just stay there…I'd thought I'd lost you, Ellis…I really did…"

I sighed, bringing my hand up to cover one of hers that was cupping my cheek. My shoulder screamed in protest, but I didn't care. I hadn't realized how much she really cared…and I felt a twinge of guilt for a moment… "Don't cry no, Zo…" I said. "Everything's alright now, I'm alive ain't I?" I said, trying to calm her down.

"Yeah…" She sniffled. "But you are going to get yourself killed by doing stupid stuff like that, Ellis. Just…listen to me from now on, okay? I can't risk losing you. I just can't. You're never going to get _any _better at this rate…"

"I'll be fine Zo, girl…" I whispered to her.

"Is that so Mr. Tough Guy?" She asked, a twinge of what sounded like panic touching her voice. "Well, you aren't invincible… Just be careful. Promise me?"

"I solemnly swear to you Miss Zoey." I stated, rubbing her hand slightly. I felt her relax a little bit above me and I realized I was sprawled out across her lap on the couch. My muscles were getting tired, and I sighed, dropping my hand, my entire body just going limp. There were now two or three tanks sitting on my chest, and breathing was a labor that could build muscle now.

"Ungh…ow…ouch….shit…" I moaned as I tried getting comfortable. My whole body ached, and I still didn't feel my legs.

"What? What is it?" Zoey asked, her hands moving over me, trying to target the source of my discomfort. Her hands fluttered as I rolled my head back and forth trying to shake it off.

"Nothin"…" I lied, groaning. "Okay, wait…that's a big fat lie. Everything hurts…." I moaned out.

Zoey sighed and leaned down, pressing another kiss to my forehead. My body tingled and surged. "I'm so sorry, Ellis…" She whispered. "We all need to be more careful from now on… Everybody is injured now, except Rochelle. We're stuck here…"

I almost jumped up. "_Everybody _is injured…?" I asked, feeling a bit scared. "What happened?" I asked, panic rising in my voice.

_No, no, no! _I thought to myself. _NO! We cannot lose another person! Why, oh shit, why?_

"Nice was attacked by a hunter…" Zoey whispered out, trying to soothe my by rubbing her hands through my hair again. However, this time it didn't work and I could feel myself getting worked up. "Calm down, Ellis…" Zoey said. "Shh, he's fine. Don't worry about him. Rochelle is looking after him upstairs now. Nothing too bad, just a few scratches, and he's a little sore. But he is resting comfortably. Don't get yourself all worked up now, he'll be fine in a few days. He's been up a down the stairs once or twice. He's alright, Ellis…I promise…Now please relax…"

I let out a deep gush of air. "When did this happen?"

"When you were passed out. Luckily, Rochelle got to him in plenty of time, and knocked the stupid thing off of him, then took care of it. She helped him to his feet and brought him inside, and upstairs. She patched him up. When we'd got him all situated and whatnot, he asked to see you. Rochelle helped him downstairs. You would not believe how protective he got when he say you lying there like that. I've been sitting with you this whole time, and when Nick came down, every noise you'd make, he'd practically jump on you to make sure you were okay." She paused to smile. "He even made a pleasant conversation with me. Rochelle went upstairs and caught an hour or so of sleep before Nick started dozing off down here. When she came down, he was almost completely out. She basically carried him back upstairs, and he's sleeping now I'm assuming because I haven't heard a peep from up there since. And speaking of which…" Zoey ran her hands down my face and back up again. "Everything is all secure, so it's about time somebody rested."

Right on cue, I yawned. "Don't worry about a thing, honey…" Zoey said, gently holding my hand. "Everybody s safe. You need to rest now…So just close those beautiful eyes of yours and head on to sleep." I yawned again, and just sighed out.

I snuggled into Zoey, almost addicted to her sweet scent, and her radiating warmth. I was actually kind of comfortable, despite all of the pain in my bones, joints and muscles. I closed my eyes, and Zoey stroked my hair gently, breathing out. Shortly after closing my eyes, I felt the warm blanket wash over me and pull me under.

Nick's POV:

Rochelle rushed up the stairs to me, grabbed a med kit out of the stash up here, and quickly ran back downstairs. I hadn't heard a scream, a shout, hell, I hadn't heard a single thing…well, except a muted thud. But what had happened? Last I knew of things, Ellis was lying on the couch with Zoey, and Rochelle was coming up to spend some time with me. I missed her a lot because we didn't really have a lot of time to spend together anymore. Rochelle was helping Ellis a lot lately, and that didn't bother me. The poor kid had been hit the hardest when Coach died, even harder than Rochelle had taken it. Some nights when he thought nobody could hear, I heard the poor kid crying himself to sleep. He was almost like a little bother to me, even thought he had a tendency to piss me off, I still loved the kid like he was family.

I decided that something must have happened and it was quite urgent. I was contemplating going downstairs to check it out, and my decision was made for me when I heard Zoey's high pitched voice scream out, "There's blood in his mouth! He can't breathe, Rochelle!"

I heaved myself up off of the sleeping bag bed, and then hobbled out the door to the stairs. I thudded down the stairs and found Zoey on the couch again with Ellis in her lap. His eyes were white and rolled to the back of his head, and he was gurgling as blood leaked out as almost a foam from the sides of his mouth. Rochelle was steadily working over him with a med kit while Zoey dabbed at the blood as it spilled out of his mouth. I gasped. What had happened to him?

I half ran, half limped over to Ellis. Rochelle was looking at his chest, feeling his ribs with both her hands. She must've found the issue because her face lit up. "He has a fracture, it may have punctured his lungs…That explains the blood…He tried walking? With no feeling? Jesus." She groaned, and then pulled out an adrenaline shot, roughly pumping it into one of Ellis's legs. His leg twitched, but then that was it. She repeated the process again with the other leg.

"His heart rate is going to sky rocket…" She said. "But it'll calm down and he'll be fine." Rochelle collapsed onto the floor, breathing slightly ragged. She closed her eyes and sighed. The dark circles had returned, and she needed to get some sleep. I placed my hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly at my touch, but opened her eyes and met mine.

"Hey…" I breathed out a smile. "You need to go catch some shut eye. Why don't you go upstairs, and I'll stay down here? Zoey and I can bond. Won't that be _fun_?" I switched my gaze form Rochelle to Zoey. She rolled her eyes.

Ro yawned\, and then picked herself up off of the floor, patting my cheek. "I'm headed upstairs then…God I am _so_ tired…" She yawned and headed to the stairs, but stopped as she turned towards the three of us. "Just yell if you need anything. Wake me up in the need be. Goodnight." Then she trekked up the stairs. I stood up, and then moved to the head of the couch, planting myself on the floor next to Zoey. Ellis's chest rose and fell very slowly, and it scared me at how shallow his breathing was. His chest was noticeably caved in, and he looked like shit.

Zoey sighed and she gently rubbed Ellis's face and hair. "You like him." I stated calmly, laying my head back and tracing the cracks in the ceiling with my eyes.

"What?" Zoey asked, question in her voice.

"Ellis…" I stated calmly, exhaling.

"What about him?" She asked. I could feel her stare boring into me so I turned and met her questioning eyes.

"You like him." I stated again, holding her gaze.

"Um…" She said, chewing her lip slightly.

I shrugged. "You can be honest. You don't have to hide it from me, cupcake."

Zoey scoffed. "Go to hell Colonel Sanders."

I chuckled. "Touchy, touchy are we?"

Zoey groaned. "No, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't make assumptions."

"Who said I was making assumptions?" I asked, tracing the ceiling lines again with my eyes. "I'm stating a fact."

"Well how do you know it's true, suit?" She asked, sounding a bit shy.

"Because…" I said, my head lolling to the side. She had returned her gaze to Ellis's face, and there was fascination written across hers. She traced the scar across the bridge of his nose, and then ran her fingers through his hair again and again. "Take a look at what you're doing!" I laughed out.

Zoey stopped moving her hands. "Oh…um..." She chewed her lip again.

"Exactly." I said smirking. God, I loved being right. And being a smartass. It made life fun for me. Especially watching her squirm under my grasp. She was intimidated.

"Why do you care?" She whispered after a brief moment of silence.

I sat up straight and found her looking at me, her long browns knit together. "Because, of you ever hurt him, I'm going to hurt you, whether you're a girl or not."

"You care about somebody other than yourself?" She gasped in mock horror.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes I do, dollface. Just because I don't care for _you _doesn't mean I don't care for anybody else. I care about the kid, I really do. He's young still, and he's got a lot to learn. I feel kind of bad in a way."

"Why?" She asked.

"Why what?" I reached into my suit jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Rochelle hated the fact I smoked, even if I was only a chain smoker and had a good drag of one of the caner sticks when I felt the time right. We'd joked once about if I'd ever got infected, I turn into a smoker.

I pulled stick out of the pack, and placed it between my lips, lighting it, and taking a deep drag, letting out a puff of smoke that swirled and disappeared as it drifted towards the ceiling. Zoey coughed besides me and I smiled.

"Why do you feel bad?"

I laughed a dry laugh, taking other drag. "Because…" I exhaled. "He's a lovesick puppy. It makes me gag a bit at the thought." I fake cringed, but kept the smirk on my lips nonetheless.

"What?" Zoey asked, confusion clearly written across her features as I turned and met her gaze. She was a dim one, I'd give her that.

"How aren't you following this?" I laughed. She groaned and rolled her eyes. I kept right on smirking, especially as she got irritated. That just made me chuckle. "Well _Ellis_ over here…" I said that in a mocking southern accent, the one I used to get a rise out of Ellis when I was bored. "Ever since that day he saw you on the bridge, he wouldn't shut the fuck up about you. I was about ready to wring his goddamn neck." I took a long drag, breathing it out in puffs, enjoying the nicotine as it coated my lungs and flooded through my bloodstream. "He called you things like an angel, and how beautiful you are, and how he wants to go cross-country with you, all that fun happy shit. Gag city for me though." I laughed as Zoey's mouth dropped to the floor.

"Is that all…true?" She asked slowly, choosing her words.

I stood up, dropping my cigarette to the floor, and then putting it out with my shoe. "Sure as shit, cupcake." I patted Ellis's shoulder and then the top of Zoey's head, yawning. I sat back down, and let her digest what I'd told her.

We sat in silence for a while, and I felt myself dozing off. Zoey didn't say anything, didn't ask any stupid questions. Eventually, I felt somebody shaking my shoulder gently. I hadn't realized how asleep I was. I opened my eyes and found Rochelle above me.

"C'mon Nick…" she coaxed me to my feet, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and waist, supporting my weight as she led me to the stairs. I groggily moved upwards until as soon as I got into the room, I collapsed onto the floor, feeling exhausted as hell. Talking with Zoey tired me out, and after that hunter attack, the pain pills were wearing off and I was beginning to feel the pain. I sighed, and the last thing I heard was Rochelle calling goodnight downstairs.

She shut the door and I felt her crawl up beside me. I wrapped my arms around her as she snuggled into my chest. My wounds had been expertly bandaged by her, and they felt surprising good. It also helped that they weren't that deep to begin with. I don't know what I would've done if Ro hadn't been there to save my sorry ass. I sighed as I felt a soft kiss placed on my cheek.

"I love you, Nick…" She breathed out, exhaling deeply. I smiled to myself, and feel into a deep sleep.

**[A/N: And there you have it! At only 4,710 words it's not as long a chapter as others, but it'll do because I just **_**had **_**to get that out! What do you think of Nick and Rochelle's relationship? Didn't see that coming, did ya? I bet not! And how about the whole Nick and Zoey relationship? I honestly find that hilarious, because Nick is such a smartass, and Zoey is so blunt. They are a whirlwind of attitude together! And what about poor Ellis? I feel so bad for him! His legs are still messed up pretty bad, and he just had to go and hurt himself some more! What am I going to do with him? He's so troublesome. I never actually intended to hurt him that much…but the idea sort of took on a life of its own. Anyways, it's only about 2:30 and I actually finished this chapter in one night! Whoo hoo! I'm so proud of myself! Well, I'm tired as hell, so I'm going to go jump in the shower and head to beddy bye. Review please? XOXO]**


	4. Chapter 4

**[A/N: Hey everybody! So, it's no August and my summer is winding down, and shortly I'm going to start up classes again. I went through a huge shitstorm of stuff since my last update back in like May-ish. I lost all inspiration to keep writing, I had no time, and it seemed futile at the time. But I'm back now, and play on updating more than just this once. I haven't really planned anything yet, but I'll just let the ideas flow and see where it takes me!]**

Zoey's POV:

"_C'mon baby….please!" I cried out, cupping Ellis's cheeks. His eyes had turned a sickly grey color, and rolled to the back of his head. I continued my chest compressions. Using as much force as I could, I tried my very hardest to get his still heart going again. I pressed my ear to his chest, and still, nothing but a hollow silence. I opened his mouth with my fingers, and leaned down, pressing my mouth to his. I blew in a few puffs of air. Ellis's skin was a sickly pale, turning stone grey. A pool of blood was forming beneath him. I was kneeling besides his still body, his blood seeping into the knees of my jeans as I worked. I returned to doing my chest compressions. "Ellis!" I cried out as I felt the hot tears escaping my eyes as panic flooded through my bloodstream. "ELLIS! PLEASE!" I laid my head on his chest, and hugged his shoulders tightly. Rain poured down above me. Suddenly, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I whirled around to see Ellis, but he was white and appeared to be nothing more than a whisper. He was smiling. I felt my mouth hit the floor. "Zoey…" He smiled out as he floated, that's right _floated_, over to me, and kneeled down. He took both my hands in his, and pressed his lips to them. I felt nothing more than a breeze across my wet, blood soaked hands. Suddenly, Ellis stood up, placing my hands in my lap. "Zoey…" he was no longer smiling. "Back away from me….C'mere." He opened his arms, and I ran right into them, but found nothing but a whisper of air. "You have to that no matter what…" He pointed over to where his contorted body lied. "What?!" I cried out. What the hell was Ellis talking about? Wasn't he dead… I was talking to his spirit right? "You'll see my love…" He grimaced, and then placed a kiss on my cheek. But, once again, I felt nothing but a breeze. "I'll always be with you, I love you." And then, he was gone. "Ellis? Ellis?!" I cried out. Suddenly, I heard a sharp yowl behind me. The hair on the back of my neck pricked. I whirled around, grabbing my pistol from my holster. But I nearly dropped it as my jaw hit the floor. Ellis's body was now pale as could be, and blood was dripping down from his mouth. His eyes were glowing an eerie silver against the rain and night. His eyes caught mine, and he wailed out as he ran towards me, lunging for my neck._

I opened my eyes to the sun burning though a small window across the room, and sweat covered every square inch of my body. Blinking, I was momentarily dazed at where I was. My heart rate was probably 110 BPM as it pounded in my chest against my ribs and my mind was swimming. I had then remembered that we had moved to a new safe house. This one was on the very outskirts of town, nearly forty five minutes from the last. We had driven here when Ellis had been charged, and now, all of us except Rochelle, were injured on varying degrees. Nick was the least injured of us, left with a few slight gashes from the hunter. My ankle was still swollen, and it hurt like hell. Luckily, I now had a pair of makeshift crutches, and I could maneuver around a bit better. However, even if I could get around, I knew it would be quite some time before Ellis was completely healed up. He was in the worst shape of all of us. And with him pulling the stunt he did by trying and walking with no feeling in his legs, he'd put himself in even bigger trouble, extending the recuperation period. I sighed and threw my hands on my face, covering my eyes. What was with me having these weird dreams? I pressed the palms of my hands into my eyes and then let go, trying to wipe the dream from my memory. My heart was returning to a natural rhythm, but beads of sweat were still lingering on my skin.

I yawned quietly as I felt Ellis still fast asleep on my lap. We were on a futon, and last night I had planned to pull it out, with Nick and Rochelle's help of course, but Ellis got injured further and both Nick and Rochelle were dead on their feet. I wouldn't have been able to pull it out with a busted ankle. No way in hell that would've worked. Either way, I'd been sleeping in an upright position all night, as Ellis's body spread across the entire length of the futon. Sleeping this way wasn't uncomfortable, but it hadn't done my neck justice. I rolled my head as my stiff neck argued against me, cracking a few times as I did so. I needed to get up and stretch my joints, but somehow, I had to remove Ellis's head from my lap.

I ran my fingers delicately over his face, so lightly I almost wasn't touching him. His face had begun to turn a nasty purple, almost blue, as a huge bruise developed on the right side of his face. I wish we had some ice around somewhere, as under the bruise there was a large amount of swelling. His whole body was beginning to form bruises, and he looked very frail. His skin was pale, almost all of the colour drained, and it seemed paper like, nearly translucent. He had suffered a great deal of blood loss in a short time, and I'm that had very negative effects on his health and wellbeing.

I continued to stroke his face gently, avoiding the bruised part. Ellis's normally deep, even breathing had turned into a pattern of shallow, labored breaths, as he wheezed when he exhaled. I sighed to myself, shaking my head. Why had the whole world gone to hell lately? It's like the world was rejecting us like a bad organ transplant, trying to expel us, almost like we were poisonous toxins, tainting this already tainted world. That made no sense to me. We were the good guys in this scenario, weren't we? Just a group of the last sane people on Earth, using every last ounce of willpower just to get through a few hours of the day. We were the hardest working people I'd ever known, and now, ever _will _know. So why were we the enemy?

My mind began to wander as I pondered that question over and over, trying to make sense of anything. I began to think of how endlessly boring my life had been, just a few short months back. How much I hated the hum drum of the same patterns over and over without a break. But lately, I'd been thinking I'd give anything to have it back again. To be locked up in my dorm room, cutting class, watching terrible zombie films from the 1970's, and getting a call from my mom every two days as she yelled at me to 'apply myself', and 'grow up'. Even though as soon as I'd hung up I'd shout "I HATE YOU!" at the phone, I missed having my mom around. And my dad, especially my dad. But I couldn't bear to think about that, it would be too much to handle. I wanted to get through at least one full day where I didn't burst into tears. One day where I didn't feel so raw and exposed, like a flesh wound that refused to heal.

I brought myself out of my thoughts as I felt tears form in the corner of my eyes, and drip down my cheeks. Apparently, today would _not_ be the day I didn't cry. I let the tears drip onto my jacket as they rolled off of my chin, leaving large, dark ovals in their wake. Thinking about the past, and my family, stung like lemon juice and razor blades. I hadn't really had time to think about everything I'd lost and left behind since I was too focused keeping myself alive, and wondering if I would eat that day. Chuckling coldly to myself, I realized what a sad existence I led. I didn't have to struggle as much to survive anymore now that I'd found Ellis, Nick, and Rochelle. But then again, now, I just didn't have to struggle alone as much. And I'd be damned if I'd said I haven't been struggling with being alone. I'd been alone a lot more than I'd been in my entire life.

Even with Ellis here on my lap, I felt more alone now than ever. When I had things in perspective like that, I couldn't help but wonder what things would be like if this infection hadn't broken out. Would I have dropped out of college?

I didn't have time to think any further though as Ellis stirred beneath me. His face contorted in pain and a short groan escaped his lips. His eyes fluttered open slowly, but surely.

"Morning, sunshine." I smiled down at Ellis as I ran my hand soothing through his caramel locks. "How're you feeling?"

Ellis sighed, shaking his head against my legs a bit. "I ain't lyin'...this hurts." A small smile danced on his lips. "I'll live though."

I chuckled. "I think that's a good plan. Can't have anybody dying here, now can we?" I winked at Ellis, causing him to smirk and roll his eyes.

"Anyways…" Ellis said, rubbing his hand on his chin, and moaning slightly. "How're you holdin' up, girl? I'm bettin' yer legs are sleepin'." Ellis tapped his temple. "My ma used to say this thing here is chock fulla rocks!"

I laughed at Ellis's remark. "Don't worry, Ellis. My legs are fine. Excluding my ankle, but hey…" I shrugged, feeling indifferent. "What can I do? Just have to let that heal as all. It doesn't hurt any more, but it also doesn't hurt any less. Either way, it'll heal quicker now that it's wrapped. It's all just a waiting game now, I suppose." I shrugged again.

Ellis nodded, not saying anything. We sat together for a while in a comfortable silence as the sun crept higher in the sky, throwing new shadows around the room as time passed. I had no idea what time of day it was, but judging by the sun, it was much too early to be up.

The silence continued, filled with nothing but my deep breathing, and Ellis's shallow, almost ragged breaths. However, my stomach growled loudly, sounding like a dying whale, breaking the silence. My hand flew to my stomach, and I hadn't realized until now how hungry I had become.

I chuckled. "I think I should get us something to eat, there is plenty of food left. It's in the kitchen. You hungry?"

Ellis nodded. "Yeah, I could eat. Maybe it would help me regain some of my strength, you know?"

I nodded. "But even if it does…" I touched Ellis's cheek lightly on the side that wasn't bruised, and he placed his hand over mine. "You need to stay put and rest up. How're your legs today? Any better?"

Ellis moved his right leg ever so slightly. "A little bit. The right one I have almost all of the feeling in, but the leg one here…" He tried to move his left leg, but it only twitched. "It ain't feelin' so good. I was pummeled pretty damn hard, I'm sure somthin' in my back ain't up to snuff right now. Eh, either way, it'll come back eventually." He smiled brightly at me.

I chuckled and pulled my hand off of his face, and reached for the crutches propped up against the wall. I gingerly lifted Ellis's head off of my lap and placed it gently on the sofa. He sighed a bit. I pushed myself up, using the couch as leverage, grabbed the crutches, and tucked them under my arms. I winced as my underarms had become very sore after using the stupid things. But the pain was worth having mobility without assistance from somebody else. It was kind of like freedom. I really didn't like to rely on other people, but sometimes, meaning now, I had to.

I hobbled my way over to the kitchen. Rochelle had set everything up neatly when we had arrived, making the food easily accessible. I was thankful for that. I was kind of short, standing only five foot five flat footed. The cupboards were unusually high in this kitchen, and while I normally would have just crawled up on the counters, I needed my crutches to stand, and there was no way I would be able to crawl onto the high countertops.

I grabbed a box of plain cereal, and poured it into two bowls. Grabbing two clean spoons, I stuck one in each bowl. I'd have to make two trips to carry the bowls, and ditch one the crutches. I propped one of the crutches up against the counter, and grabbed a bowl off of the counter. I hobbled over to the couch. Placing the bowl on the small end table next to the futon, I took one of the pillows that was propped up against the wall on the top of the futon.

"Okay, Ellis. I need you to sit up so you don't choke. Here…let me help." I placed my hand under Ellis's back, as he propped himself up with his elbows. His face scrunched up and contorted in pain like it had earlier.

"Oh man…oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man." Ellis groaned as he sat up. "Aw, hell, no. Hell no." He brought himself up enough, and I tucked the pillow under him. He lied back and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, Ellis…" I pursed my lips as he clenched his jaw, and unclenched it, rubbing his eyes roughly.

"Naw, don't worry 'bout it none. I'll be fine." He took his hands off his eyes, and smiled gently at me. However, as the smiled stretched across his face, it pulled the bruised side, which was swollen. "Ow! _Fuck_…" He grumbled the last part so quietly, I almost didn't catch it. It made me giggle a little, hearing Ellis use a dirty word like that. I'd never really heard him say it before, and it sounded exquisite coming out of his mouth. Unlike me, who used it liberally. Coming out of my mouth, it sounded almost tacky.

"You sure you're alright?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah… I think so. Why does my face hurt so much though? I didn't actually feel it until just now. Ho, ho man. That does _not _make me a happy camper in the slightest."

"Well, you kind of have a huge bruise on your face… It's pretty swollen. I wish I could give you some ice or something. Here's what I'll do. I want you to get some food in your system, and then I'll get you some pain pills. I don't want you getting sick."

Ellis nodded. "M'kay." I picked up the bowl off of the side table, and handed it to him. Ellis looked at me gratefully and began shoveling spoonfuls into his mouth. He chewed slowly, holding the bowl with one hand, and the bruised side of his face with the other.

I hobbled back over to the kitchen, and retrieved my bowl. I returned to the living room, and began to sit on the floor, my stomach growling at me. Ellis patted the edge of the couch as he scooted himself against it. "Don't sit on the floor, Zo. You won't be able to get back up, and I can't help ya in the poor state I'm in. Sit up here, it'll be more comfortable."

"Ellis, no, I'm fine. I can sit down here. I want you to rest on the couch, and I don't want to risk jostling you too much."

Ellis rolled his eyes. "I slept on your lap last night, Zoey. Get yer ass up here, and sit down. You ain't gonna hurt me none."

"Fine…" I sighed, inside be grateful I didn't have to sit on the floor. It's a long way down, and a long way back up. I sat on the edge of the futon, resting my bowl on my lap. Ellis had already eaten half of his, and I had filled his bowl pretty well. He noticed me eyeing the bowl and smirked.

"I was a little hungry…Not so much anymore." I laughed and dove into my cereal, shoveling a huge spoonful into my mouth.

Ellis and I ate together in comfortable silence until both of our bowls were empty. I took his bowl and placed my bowl and both spoons inside, placing it on the table. Ellis was almost humming as he looked satisfied, and I wouldn't lie, so was I.

"So, Zoey…" Ellis began, running a hand through his hair.

"So, Ellis…" I said, unzipping my jacket. It was really warm in this place for some reason, and I was much too hot with my jacket on. Removing it from my arms, I draped it across the back of the futon, and sighed as I leaned back, Ellis's knees against the small of my back.

"Wanna shoot the breeze for a while? I dunno when Nick and Rochelle plan on gettin' up, so we could just talk."

"Sure, that wounds good. Rochelle and Nick were both dead on their feet, so they need the rest anyways. What do you want to talk about?"

"Well…" Ellis began, rubbing his chin. "Tell me about you."

"What do you want to know?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow. I had told Ellis a lot already, and I don't think there was anything else that really needed to be said.

"Whelp, tell me your life story. I'd like to know why you're such a badass!" He winked and me and smiled.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Okay, well, I was born in a place called Buckeye, in Arizona. My parents had met when they were both in Arizona attending a summer camp program. My mom lived in Lima, Ohio, and my dad lived in Buckeye. They exchanged numbers and talked a lot. They dated their junior and senior years of high school. My mom drove up to see my dad in the middle of senior year, and they made a few, well, irresponsible choices, and my mom got pregnant with me. When she graduated, my mom moved down the Buckeye, and she and my dad bought an apartment. My grandmother on my mom's side I never met. She basically ran off with my dad, and my mom's mom lost contact. They never spoke afterwards. My dad, however, told his parents he'd met the love of his life, and he was going to marry her, after only two years of dating. So they got married when my mom was eight months pregnant with me. I was born on August 8th, in the back of a cab." Ellis's eyes widened. "My mom sucks…er, sucked at planning. Anyways, I was in the hospital for two weeks because I got sick when I was two days old. But after that, I don't know anything until I turned five, and my mom told me she was pregnant again. We moved out of the apartment and into a big house on the main drag. I lived there my entire life. My mother gave birth to my brother, Anthony James, but he died after a week, he was four and a half months early. My parents had been so devastated at the loss of my brother, I remained an old child, and they divorced soon after. I grew up with my dad, as my mother worked nonstop, and then on weekends hung out with her girlfriends. My dad raised me on old horror movies, you know, the really terrible ones that you laugh when the hero dies? My life was pretty uneventful until I graduated when I was eighteen. I got a scholarship for filmmaking at Aldrich in Philadelphia. I spent my days in my dorm watching old horror movies and cutting classes. In the first six months, my grades dropped from a 100, down to a 68. My mom would call and nag me every two days, but I always told her I was doing research. My dad wanted me to drop college altogether and join 'the force'. He taught me to shoot at a very young age, and I'm so glad he did, even though my mother thought it was dangerous and stupid, and not fit behavior for a lady." I paused and swallowed the growing lump in my throat as I realized I was getting to the worst part of the story. Clearing my throat, I continued. "I was on spring break one weekend and spending a week at my mom's. My dad came over for dinner, and as usual, my parents got into one of their usual heated arguments. But this is where my life went to hell. While they weren't paying attention, a damn zombie walked into my childhood home, and bit my mother. My dad killed it before it could do too much…but…it was too late. My dad grabbed my mom and held her, and screamed at me to dial 911 and call for an ambulance. I was gone no more than four, five minutes at the most. I walked into the living room, and witnessed my own mother, my own damn mom, mauling my father…" I choked back tears, and I felt Ellis grab my hand.

"You don't have to…go on if you don't want to, Zoey…" Ellis said softly.

I shook my head. "It's fine. Unless you don't want to hear…?"

"It's not that, darlin'. I just don't want to see you hurtin' as all."

"Oh…well, it's okay. I'll be fine." I took a deep breath, and steadied myself. "So anyways, when my infected mother had noticed me there, she lunged for me, but my dad shot her in the back of the head. I remember her falling to my feet, her blood had splayed all over me. It was the second most horrific moment of my life. I was about to collapse with sheer terror and shock, but my dad was calling me. My mom had bit my dad numerous times, and he was in bad shape, bleeding and all. He handed me his pistol, and took my hand as I knelt beside him. He told me, "remember when the main character was killed at the end of the movie?", and I said, "yeah, we always used to laugh at that part…" remembering all the good times…" I felt tears pooling in my eyes the exact same way they had the horrific day. Ellis gave my hand a tight squeeze, and I continued. "I whispered, "I love you, dad" and pulled the trigger, killing my own father. I killed the man who had raised me, taught me everything I knew. All of because of my stupid mother! She was the dumb bitch that started it! She should have been paying attention, but no, she was too busy starting another argument with my dad!" I squeezed my eyes shut and felt tears running down my cheeks. "And you know what the worst part is? I found out a few weeks later that I'm a fucking carrier! And that is a gene I had from guess who? My dad! That was a mercy killing, and it was all in vain. Or it might've been. Hell, I'll never know now, will I?" I let the hot tears run down my face, as I rested my elbows on my knees, and pushed my hands into my eyes, sniffling.

"Zoey…I had no idea…I'm so, so sorry…" Ellis began, his voice cracking.

I sighed, shaking my head. "You don't need to apologize, Ellis. It was the worst moment of my life, and something I'll never be able to forget. I just wish it hadn't ended that way. My dad was everything to me. I grew up alone, with only one or two unreliable friends. My dad was my best friend. I loved him so much. And now he's just…gone. I had his blood on my hands, only to find out it may have been futile to have killed him. He wanted to protect me from himself. I miss my dad. If I could go back, remembering everything, I would've joined the force for him. To make him proud. Or maybe I would've tried harder in college, instead of dicking around. And that's guilt I'll have to carry for the rest of my damn life." I sighed, and brought my hand off of my eyes, wiping them with the back of my palm. "But that's my life story. I don't feel like talking anymore. Your turn."

Ellis cleared his throat, his eyes watering. "Um, okay. Well, I was born and raised here in Savannah. My mother and father got married when she was eighteen, and he was twenty one. She got pregnant with my brother Hunter at nineteen. He was two when she got pregnant again, with my sister, Pollyanna. She was five when my mother gave birth to me. I was born May 15th at the clinic of a midwife, where all of my brothers and sisters had been born. My full name is Ellis Zachary Rhett III. I hated my name because I was named after my father who had been cheatin' on my mama since he was twenty five, and married with two children. I was never close with my father, he wasn't at home often. He'd get home late at night, and I'd be layin' in bed hearin' the arguments. One day, on my sixth birthday, my father just up and left. He looked my dead in the eyes, and said, "Boy, you ain't gon' mean nothin' when you grow up. All this shit that has gone down, it's you're doin', boy." And then we grabbed his suitcases and hopped into a car with some blonde gal with bright cherry lips, and a shiny red car. I watched my dad drive away and I cried for weeks afterwards, on a count of what he had said to me. My momma tried consolin' me, tellin' me this ain't my fault. But I was always supposed to be obeyin' my father, so how could I believe her? Anyways, I went through school and I was teased on account my daddy had been a cheatin' man. He shamed my family, and had somehow gone the whole town thinkin' it was all my mama. But when they all learned what had really been happenin', my mama became friends with everybody in the town. She was the nicest the woman y'all would ever know. We were a good family, goin' to Church on Sunday and sayin' our good prayers at night. When I turned seventeen, I was outta school. My buddy Keith, his brother Paul, Dave and I all opened a mechanic shop." Ellis tapped his hat. "We all had hats lookin' just like this beaut here. Mine is blue, Keith's was red, Paul's was black, and Dave's was green. We were the only mechanics and scrappers in the whole town, which made us well known. We were fixin' up everybody's stuff, and got a good reputation. Except for Keith, who would always be goin' and doin' some shit that would get him into all sorts of troubles, sometimes with the law, other times with his health. He ended up havin' third degree burns over ninety percent of his body, which left some nasty scars. He was all warped and wrinkled like, and it was so cool, it was digustin'. When I turned twenty one, I went to a bar and got drunk…" Ellis' eyes darkened a bit, and he looked almost sad. "When I woke up the next mornin', I was in bed at home, my mama wipin' puke from the side of my mouth. I realized then and there I wouldn't ever get plastered like that again, on account of I had seen my daddy like that at least a hundred times. At the rate I was livin' my life, I was turnin' into the man I despised. I vowed only to have a few beers with my buddies after that. I moved outta my mom's house, and Dave and I rented an apartment for a while. Keith and Paul were livin' in the upstairs of the shop, on account their daddy had built it for them. Anyways, I went on for a year and a half, turnin' twenty two, and then twenty three, makin' a good livin' off of bein' a mechanic, and even playin in my band. I played bass. My momma was so proud of me. I had dinners with her every Sunday, and life was sweet. Until the infection broke out. My momma was older, and getting ill easier. She was one of the first ones to catch it. They quarantined my childhood home, and two days later, I was sittin' at home plannin' with Keith, Paul and Dave some way to get out, when I got a phone call. It was the hospital. They didn't even let me see my mama the whole time, and she had died all alone." Ellis's eyes watered and tears rolled down his cheeks. I felt his pain. I touched his arm, and he held my hand tightly, bringing it to his lips, giving the back of my hand a soft peck. "So, as I was sayin' I never saw my mama after. My brother Hunter had caught it too, and I still have no idea what happened to him. But my sister, oh my sweet Pollyanna, she had been with child when she got sick. She was eight months along, and all of a sudden, two days after my mama's passin', my sister's husband, whom we all just called Bubba, called me and told me Polly had succumbed to the infection, and it killed her. Before I knew it, everybody I'd known, were all those _things_. Dave bailed on us, and as far as I know, he's somewhere in Hawaii with his gal, Tessie. They had six kids, and Tessie was sweet as a summer rose. Dave was lucky she stayed. Even though I was mad at Dave for a few days, I knew had had been lookin' out for his family, and I had nothin' but respect for those values. Keith and Paul were chopped out, but I stayed behind. I couldn't bear to leave. I armored myself up a truck to be 100% zombie proof. Turns out though it was only 99% zombie proof…that last 1% tore that truck to _shit_. But I managed to escape to the nearest evac station, which was the mall. It's where I met Ro, Nick, and um...Coach. I've been with through everythin', and now here I am." Ellis nodded his head as he finished his story, and I felt my jaw hitting the floor. Ellis tapped my chin with two fingers as he released my hand. "What's that look for?" He asked.

I closed my mouth. "My story is so…_weak _compared to yours! Ellis…you…you were six years old. And your own father said those things to you?" I felt tears rolling down my cheeks as all of my sympathy for Ellis bubbled to the surface.

Ellis shrugged. "My daddy was a cheatin', lyin' classic asshole. I learned over the years to push out what he'd said. I don't believe it no more. I made somthin' of my life. I wear my name proudly, it's part of who I am. I'm nothin' like my daddy, and I have nothin' in my life to be ashamed of. Except that one night after my birthday, but that was a mistake, and I actually learned from it. I taught myself to be a better man. And look at me now! Although at the moment, I'm kinda tore up, I survived. And I'm stronger. I wish my mama could see me now…" Ellis sighed and shook his head.

I touched his hand, and his beautiful blue eyes locked with mine. "I'm sure she's looking at you from Heaven now, Ellis. And I'm sure she is so proud of you. Of whom you've become. You're one of the best people I've ever met, Ellis. You're willing to sacrifice yourself for another, and you always try and be optimistic in a way that's almost contagious. You made something of your life. You became a survivor when Hell came to Earth. She'd be so proud, Ellis. I know I am…"

Ellis broke out into a huge smile. "You really think so?"

I nodded grinning, and stroking his face gently. "Ellis, I _know _so."

Ellis grinned at me, his blue eyes sparkling. "Thanks, Zoey. That made me feel a ton better, on account of how much I tried to be a better man than the man who had this name before me."

"And look at you, Ellis. You are truly an amazing person as a whole." I grinned at him, continuing to stroke his face.

"I'm glad we had this talk, Zo. That was actually a huge load off of my chest, and it really is a good feelin' to be able to confide your whole life to somebody."

I nodded. "My thoughts exactly. So, for now, how about we keep this whole conversation between you and I?"

Ellis shrugged a bit. "Sure, that's fine."

I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Ellis's forehead. "I feel like I know you so much more even after that one talk, and it's a nice feeling to get so intimate with somebody like that. Normally, I never would have opened up like that, but it's comfortable with you. So thanks for listening…"

Ellis nodded. "I'm glad we can talk like this."

When there was nothing more to be said, the room when quite except for our breathing, and a breeze blowing outside, making the safehouse creak a little bit. All of the words that had just been spoken, hung in the air like a blanket, and Ellis and I sat together, letting everything soak in. My chest felt lighter now, like a weight had been removed. My life didn't seem so bad now that I had found Ellis. Sure, we'd have to struggle, him, Nick, Rochelle and myself, but at least we'd all have each other. I didn't really plan on leaving my new found friends anytime soon. Especially Ellis.

As I let my mind wander for a bit, I felt Ellis relax beneath me, as his head lolled off to the side, and his jaw slacked. I could tell talking had really worn him out, and he began to snore lightly, his pink lips parted slightly. He looked cute in a boyish way when he slept, his whole being relaxed, no more creases in his forehead, no more pain scrunching up his features. Seeing him so at ease, actually put me at ease. I leaned back against the futon, still leaning slightly on Ellis's legs. I was comfortable and soon I felt my head lolling as well, and I dozed lightly.

I was pulled out of my nap though when I heard voices coming from upstairs. I opened my eyes and picked my head up, and found Ellis awake now as well. He smiled softly at me when our eyes met, but returned to staring at the ceiling, listening. I watched the stairs when I heard a door open and c lose. Rochelle descended down the stairs with Nick limping slightly behind her, a huge grin plastered on his face. He looked as if he'd just gotten laid, and suddenly a million questions buzzed through my mind about Rochelle and Nick being a 'thing'. Rochelle hit the bottom step and looked at Ellis and I, smiling almost like Nick was.

"Guys…" She said proudly, taking Nick's hand. My heart leapt with joy for them. "I have an announcement…"

What came next though, shocked me so much, I thought the whole world literally froze for a second.

Rochelle's POV:

I looked at myself in the mirror, all of my clothing removed, stripped down to my birthday suit. All of my fears had been realized in a single moment.

_Oh my good God and holy mother in high Heaven…_ I thought to myself, wringing my hands as I continued to stare at my reflection. _How am I going to break this to Nick? Oh no…Oh no….Blargh! _

I felt hot tears trailing down my cheeks. This was not something I was prepared for. I could survive everyday in a goddamn zombie apocalypse, but _this _I was not prepared for.

A million and a half thoughts ran through my mind as I collected my clothing, and redressed myself. I backed away from the mirror. My vision was hazy and blurred from the tears that kept welling up and leaking out. I was royally screwed now. What if Nick wouldn't accept it? What if he left me behind and took off with Ellis and Zoey? Oh God…Ellis! He doesn't know about Nick and I? Or does he..? What if…what if…

My thoughts buzzed in my head over and over, and in the bit of my stomach, something like a brutal combination of guilt and fear mixed together, making me feel sick, and unsteady. I gripped the counter as I began to lose my balance, a wave of nausea washing over me like a tsunami. A sort rap on the door snapped me out of my post-meltdown state.

"Babygirl…" Nick whispered against the door. "Everything alright?"

Yeah, Nick, yeah. Everything is fine…" I trailed off. _Lie, lie lie! _I thought to myself. Everything was indeed _not _fine. "I'll be out in like, thirty seconds. If you could go back and wait in the room, I'll be right there. Thanks."

I heard Nick sigh. "Rochelle, what's going on? Are you hurt?"

"No, Nick. I'm not hurt. Can you please…just give me like fifteen more seconds?"

Silence.

"I'll be in the room, babygirl. Tell me what's wrong, please…you've been acting funny for a few weeks…"

"Nick…please… Ten more seconds and I'll explain everything, I promise."

"Okay, sweetie. I love you." I heard his footsteps move away from the door, and then the creak of the bedroom door closing. I turned and looked in the mirror.

_Okay, Ro…_ I thought to myself. _You can do this. You have to. Don't beat around the bush. Ready, set, breathe… You can do this…_

I nodded to myself, still unsure if I could go through with it. Zombies, specials, tanks? Piece of cake. This? Just kill me now.

I shook my head, and mustered up all of the courage I had, and made my way towards the door. I opened it with a quiet click as the lock released, and tiptoed out. Shutting the door behind me, I opened the door to the bedroom, and found Nick, shirtless, staring at the ceiling. His arms were tucked under his head, and one of his knees was propped up. He was lying flat on the cot, and I could see the gashes from where the hunter had slashed him. His suit jacket and blue collared shirt were folded up neatly in the corner.

"Nick?" I whispered, hoping he'd hear and I'd have his attention. Nick looked up at me and cocked an eyebrow, propping himself up on his elbows. He patted the cot beside him, urging me to sit down. "Can I, um, can I talk to you? It's really important…"

"Anything, babygirl." Nick said as I made my way over to him and sat down. He tucked an arm around my waist. I brought my knees up to my chest, and rested my head on my knees, avoiding his gaze.

Nick stuck two fingers under my chin, and tilted my head so I'd look at him. His eyes were soft, his expression scrunched up a bit, a worried look on his face. "You know you can tell me _anything_, Ro. I'm your man, that's what I'm here for. Now please, for the love of God, tell me what's wrong…"

"Nick…" I said, taking a deep breath, not breaking the gaze. "Nick, I'm pregnant."

Nick's jaw hit the floor, and his eyes became the size of a dinner plate. "Are you…are you…_sure?_"

I nodded, feeling the tears brewing. I blinked them away. "Yes, I'm positive. I've missed my period three times. It's been three months, Nick. Do you remember when we made love? It only took that one time three months ago." I readjusted the way I was sitting, and tucked my legs under myself, and pulled up my shirt. My belly had become a slightly swollen, perfectly round lump, and sometimes, I felt it moving. There was no doubt I was pregnant, and it was Nick's baby.

I grabbed Nick's hand and placed it on my stomach. The baby growing inside of me moved. Nick's eyes somehow grew in size again. "No…" He said so quietly, it was hard to hear him. "Rochelle…how far along are you?"

I shrugged. "I counted the days. I'm a little over three months now."I pulled down my shirt. "I'm so sorry, Nick…" I dropped my head in shame, and brought my hands to my belly. I already loved the baby growing inside me. Mostly because Nick was the father of this unborn child. I'd always wanted a family of my own. And while these circumstances were the worst possible scenario to have a baby in, I would do everything in my power to have this child, and keep him or her safe. He or she was part of me, part of Nick, and to me, that was worth fighting for.

Nick was silent for a few more moments as I thought to myself, rubbing my slightly swollen belly. Then, unexpectedly, Nick placed his hand over mine on my belly. I looked up at him, and he was grinning like a fool. I swore I felt the baby move again as both Nick and I touched him or her.

"Rochelle…" Nick smiled, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. He scooted closer to me. "I want nothing more than to have a family with you. I love you beyond reason, and if that little baby is mine, he or she is also yours. Which means they'll have a good chance to get the carrier gene since both you and I are immune. The little baby boy, or sweet little girl is going to be the best thing to happen in my life since you, babygirl. I'm so happy for you, and I swear on life, Rochelle, I will protect you and our baby no matter what."

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I threw myself into Nick's arms. He hugged me tightly, and we both cried tears of joy together. After a solid ten minutes, Nick and I have both calmed down enough to think rationally.

"I suppose we should tell Ellis and Zoey, right?" Nick asked, sounding unsure.

"We need to." I nodded. "The sooner the better, that way, they'll know what's up. Besides, I'm sure Zoey will be thrilled, she seems like a sweet girl, you know? Under that tough demeanor, there is a soft spot. And Ellis, well, he's going to be an uncle, and a godfather."

Nick grinned, and stood up. He limped a little over to his suit jacket and shirt. He put them both on, then returned to me sitting on the cot and extended his hand. I took it and stood up as Nick pulled me into his arms, and kissed me gingerly. "Shall we go downstairs, babygirl?"

Yeah…" I breathed out, taking a deep breath in, rubbing my belly again. "Let's go break the news."

Nick took my hand and led me downstairs, as I mustered up all of my courage again.

_You can do this, Ro._ I thought to myself. _They'll be thrilled._

**[A/N: And there we have it! Jesus, I spent almost an entire day on this. I wanted to get two chapters done, but two cups of coffee later, I'm tried as hell. So only one for now. But tomorrow, if I can get around to it, I will try and write either chapter five, or a new chapter for Strength In Numbers. We'll see! But it's been about three months since an update, and I wanted to make this one great for you guys. Did I live up? I realized at the beginning of this chapter how rusty I was. But my writing skills were oiled a bit as I finished the chapter. I really hope you guys like this update, I put a ton of thought into it. I never really meant for Rochelle to be pregnant, it just kind of happened! Oops! But I think, (or at least hope!), you guys like all of the fluff going on here. And I also hope you enjoyed Zoey's and Ellis's stories. Most of the stuff I made up, but some of the stuff I took off of the Left 4 Dead Wiki, so a lot of the stuff in the back stories is factual. Either way, Ellis's full name is fucking awesome, if I do say so myself! I have yet to complete Zoey's name, but that's for a later date. Anyways, for anybody who was actually waiting for this update, thank you a million times over for being so patient with me. I'll try harder not to take three months for new updates! One last thing, pardon any typos. My computer likes to fuck me over with autocorrect I don't catch when I proofread, and that happens so much. It really pisses me off. So please, bear with the spelling, I'm trying my best here. Especially considering it's now 1:00 am, and I've been awake for a while. So please, try and make sense of my writing, I apologize to the grammar Nazis, I am one as well, but Microsoft Word is one elusive sonofabitch. Anywho, have a great day, guys and thanks for reading! Review please? XOXO]**


	5. Chapter 5

**[A/N: Hello all of my wonderful readers! I have returned for you! Did you miss me? Hah, just kidding. Anyways, I apologize for my four, five month hiatus. A lot of crazy stuff has been going on in my life lately, and I haven't had the time, patience, or inspiration to write a damn thing. But I'm back now, and I want to get back into the swing of writing. I'm going to work on updating more often now, and hopefully I can follow through with that. Please be patient with me though, as my life is quite hectic, and will continue to be for God knows how much longer. But that's not important for now. Enjoy this update if you have been waiting!]**

Zoey's POV:

Ellis and I looked at each other, the same dumbfounded look etched into both of our features. Rochelle's cheery smile was beginning to fade and was being replaced with a look of sadness. Nick's face had become a cool and quite collected poker face, as he wrapped an arm around Rochelle's waist. Rochelle gently rubbed a hand over her stomach, which now looked slightly rounder to me than I'd noticed before. I felt my mouth was slightly open, and closed it, biting my lip gently. Ellis's face had become expressionless, although his eyes were narrowed slightly. His lips were pursed, and he ran a hand through his hair in a nervous way, wincing slightly as he did so. The news the pair had just broken to us moments before was lingering in the air, and I was trying to digest it. Ellis sighed besides me, opening his mouth to say something, but then closing it once more, pursing his lips and furrowing his brows as if he was trying to come up with the right thing to say.

Nick cleared his throat loudly, and I jumped a bit. "Are you two just going to sit there like boulders, or are you going to say something?" He asked, an irritated, almost impatient, edge to his voice. Rochelle looked almost sad, and she dropped her from her stomach. Nick moved his hand to her arm and rubbed up and down in a reassuring fashion. I looked over to Ellis, who had a small smile on his lips.

"Well…" Ellis began, rubbing his chin a bit. "I ain't lyin' to y'all, but this is a lot to take in. I wasn't really ever expectin' to hear anything like this…" Rochelle's face fell further. Ellis noticed this and pursed his lip, the smile fading. "That ain't a bad thing though, I promise. In all honesty, I am stoked for both of y'all. I actually kinda figured that you and Nick were more than just friends, Ro." I saw Rochelle's dark skin turn a bit pink on her cheeks. "And if you two are makin' each other happy, then I'm happy." Ellis took a deep, ragged breath, pausing a moment. The colour in his face drained slightly, and his already pale skin turned even whiter. I noticed that it took a lot of his strength to just hold a steady conversation. He took another deep breath, continuing. "Anyways, this world isn't in the the most favorable condition to be bringin' a baby into, and I'm sure you guys already know that. But I couldn't be happier for you two." Ellis smiled weakly at Nick and Rochelle, and they both smiled back, excitement in Rochelle's eyes, and what appeared to be pride in Nick's. "Not to mention…" Ellis continued, chucking a tiny bit. "You aren't bad lookin' folks, so that little munchkin is going to be one cute little baby."

Rochelle broke out in a huge smile, and hugged Nick, then turned towards me. "And what about you, Zoey?"

My eyes widened. "Me..? What about me?" I felt heat rush to my cheeks, and nervousness twist in the pit of my stomach. For some reason, talking about all this made me pretty jumpy. I couldn't help but be a bit wary about this whole situation.

"How do you feel about all this?" She smiled warmly at me.

"Um…uh…" I stuttered, choking on my words a bit. I couldn't think of the right thing to say, that wouldn't hurt Rochelle's feelings because I wasn't exactly comfortable talking about all this. "I…um…I don't think I really have a right to say. You guys are like a family, and I haven't been with you that long…so…" I trailed off, rubbing my neck nervously, and blushing a bit more.

Rochelle scoffed. "Oh please, Zoey. We are all going to have stick together from now on. We all accept you as one of our own. I can't say I know much about you, but in time I hope to get to know you better than I do now."

I felt my face heating up. "Well…um, thanks. I'm glad you think so highly of me. Congratulations, by the way…" I paused a moment, trying to hide how I truly felt. "I'm really excited for you guys!" I smiled genuinely at the pair in front on me, but inside I was willing them away because I really wanted to talk to Ellis about this. I know he loved Nick and Rochelle, but he probably had the same feelings that I did, but would never openly admit to them. At least not while in their company…

Rochelle smiled back, and then turned to Nick, who kissed her gently on the cheek. "I'm so glad you two are so accepting of all of this. Now, if you'll all excuse me, there is a bathroom upstairs with a working shower. I'm going to test it out since I didn't get to use the one at the last safehouse." Rochelle beamed and then skipped up the stairs. I heard a door open and close, and a few moments later, the sound of the shower.

When she was out of earshot, Nick collapsed on the floor in front of us, gripping his hair. He appeared to be having a meltdown.

I looked over at Ellis, who was watching Nick. "Hey Nick, you alright there…?"

Nick picked his head up, and glared at Ellis. "No, Ellis, I am under no circumstances 'alright'!" His voice was low, but it came out as a hiss with a sharp, sour edge to it. "Rochelle is pregnant with a child that belongs to me! When she told me this morning, I nearly threw up, passed out, and then when I came to, had a nervous breakdown!" Nick stood up and began pacing the floor in front of us. Both Ellis and I watched him with careful eyes. "I don't know what to do!" He ran his hand through his hair roughly, pulling on it. "I don't want kids! I love Rochelle, I really do, but kids..?! Kids?! A baby in a zombie apocalypse!" Nick stopped pacing and looked us dead in the eyes, a mixed look of sadness, anger, and pain were etched into every line and crease of his face. "Do you guys know what could happen?! Rochelle could have some complication in birth! She could miscarry, and that would just kill her. She told me she's always wanted kids… But now?! Oh this is my entire fault…." Nick continued pacing and talking. Not to Ellis or myself, but not really to himself either.

I stood up, wincing in pain, and without grabbing the makeshift crutches, I hobbled over to nick, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, and stopped pacing. His dark green eyes were raging a vicious storm as they met mine.

"Nick…" I stated calmly. "Calm down. Use your head and think. Maybe we should keep traveling and find a hospital, and gather supplies for when the time comes for Rochelle to have her baby? There is a hospital not too far from here. We could go there and maybe find some useful stuff. You know, like painkillers and stuff? Just chill out, Nick. Everything is going to be okay." I patted his shoulder reassuringly. My ankle was screaming in protest due to me standing on it without the crutches, but I bit back the pain. I wanted Nick to calm down. If he didn't think rationally he may say, or do, something he'd regret.

Nick took a deep breath, and shrugged my hand off. "I can't relax, Zoey! Rochelle is going to have a baby… My baby… Fuck!" He clenched his teeth. "Look around, Zoey! How are we supposed to go and get supplies when we are all in this state? Rochelle is really the only one capable of fending for herself right now. And there is no way in hell she is going out there alone. Something may happen to her! I can't lose her…"

Nick sighed, and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, and a lighter. He brought one up to his mouth and with shaky hands, lit it. He blew smoke into the air, and I coughed, hobbling back over to the couch and sitting down next to Ellis, who appeared drained. He was dozing off, his head lolling to the side. His colour was a sickly pale, and I could tell this sudden news was a lot for him to handle in the sorry state he was currently in.

Nick moved to the opposite side of the room, and leaned against the wall, his back turned to Ellis and I on the couch. He tapped his cigarette lightly, and then brought it up to his mouth, blowing more smoke upwards. I watched as it swirled into the air, and then disappeared. Nick's demeanor relaxed slightly, but I could see he was shaking slightly. More smoke swirled into the air as he exhaled.

"I made an irresponsible decision, and now I have to live with it." Nick's shoulders slumped. He finished his cigarette, and then threw it on the ground, stomping it out with his brown shoes. He moved away from the wall, and headed for the stairs, blowing smoke out of his nose as he went.

"Where are you going?" I asked as Nick made his way up the stairs, his steps slow and heavy.

"My head hurts like hell. I need to go and lie down."

Nick made his way to the top of the stairs, and I heard a door open and close behind him. The shower was still running upstairs, and I could hear Rochelle singing to herself softly. Rain poured against the windows, and I hadn't noticed it had begun to storm once again. Ellis snored slightly beside me, now slumped over as his body basically collapsed, his breath shallow, and his face pale. The bruises were still a nasty colour, and just looking at them made me wince a little. Ellis must be in a world of pain, and I felt bad. Although I thought I was younger than he was, he was still young. And he sure could take a beating.

Ellis stirred a bit next to me, his head next to my legs. I ran a hand through his hair, and he relaxed a bit. Even in his sleep, his facial features weren't completely relaxed. I could tell he was hurting badly today judging by the little noises he made with each exhale. He looked more tired than I'd ever seen him before, and the sun outside was beginning to dip below the horizon. Today had gone by in a confusing blur. I was still trying to wrap my head around all that had happened.

I shook my head, sighing, and leaning back against the futon. _Christ… _I thought to myself, closing my eyes. _I didn't know anything about these people. I assumed Nick was just a dick who cared only about himself…But apparently not! And Rochelle…Jesus…This is the last thing I'd expect from her…. Kids, huh? I wonder if they realize what a bad time it is for kids! I mean, I guess Nick does….But Rochelle is in her own little world…Goddammit. This complicates everything, doesn't it?_

I yawned quietly, feeling slightly tired. My head was swimming, and my ankle was screaming in pain. I hadn't taken any pain relievers today, and I wondered if there were any pills around. I'm sure Ellis would want some too when he woke up. I opened my eyes, and watched his face. In his sleep, Ellis was breathing through his mouth, wheezing each time he exhaled. His features were scrunched up, and it was very obvious he was in a shit ton of pain. I felt bad for him, and ran my finger through his hair once more. Ellis' features relaxed the tiniest bit, and he moaned softly in his sleep. I wasn't sure if it was pain or pleasure, but the sound sent tingles up my spine. Giggling, I leaned over and kissed his forehead gently, inhaling the woodsy smell Ellis had. The corners of his lips pulled up slightly in a cute little smile laden with sleep.

Outside, the rain continued to pour down, and the sky grew darker by the second as the sun dipped completely below the horizon. I was physically exhausted, but not mentally tired in the slightest. Listening to the rain hit the window pane, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander where it wished. Before long, my mind relaxed and I dozed off.

I dreamt of the events of today, as Rochelle and Nick's words ran through my dreams like a broken record. My dreams depicted a scenario a couple of months down the road, Rochelle grotesquely pregnant, and going into labor in the middle of the hoard, and then being punched in the stomach by a tank, and worse still, being pounced by a hunter and the baby being ripped clean out of her womb….

With all of the morbid images playing behind my lids, I opened my eyes, my stomach churning. A strong wave or nausea washed over me, and I groaned loudly, throwing my hands over my eyes and closing them again. Ellis stirred next to me, his light snoring stopping abruptly. He yawned softly, coming out of his sleeping state.

"Zo?" His hoarse voice whispered to me in the darkness. I opened my eyes again, noticing how dark it had gotten. My stomach continued to churn. "Is everything all right?"

I nodded against the darkness, holding back the nausea rising in my throat. "Yeah, everything is fine, Ellis. I'm sorry I woke you."

I heard Ellis trying to push himself into a sitting position. His sharp gasps of pain broke the still night air, and I winced just thinking about the amount of pain he was in. The nausea had begun to subside a bit, but I still felt quite queasy. "It's alright, I wasn't all that comfortable anyways." He yawned. "What time is it?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Could be around eleven, might be later though."

Ellis responded with a small grunt, and another yawn. "Damn…." He mumbled, groaning a bit.

I looked over at his figure in the darkness. It was raining harder than before, and the little light coming through the window from the streetlamp outside was being blocked out a bit. I noticed Ellis was gripping his chest. "You alright…?" I asked, concern touching my voice.

Ellis nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just some pain in my chest here…" He took in a long shaky breath. "Ouch…."

I gently took his other hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. Ellis sighed, knotting his fingers in mine. "Want me to see if there are any pills upstairs?"

Ellis took another shaky breath. "If it's not too much trouble…"

I let go Ellis' hand, and stood up, my ankle screaming at me. I ignored the pain though, and grabbed my makeshift crutches. "It's no trouble at all, Ellis. I need some myself. Let me get some from the medkits upstairs, and I'll be right back." I crutched over to the stairs and ascended up the first step, groaning a bit as I did so.

I heard Ellis go to stand up. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you, Zoey?" He asked earnestly.

I made my way up a couple more steps. "Nope. Just sit tight, Ellis. I can handle it."

Ellis sighed as I made my way up the remaining steps. Sweat was beading on my forehead, and my makeshift crutches were digging into my underarms through my jacket. Climbing up stairs was harder than I thought it'd be.

When I finally reached the top of the stairs, I sighed loudly, and leaned up against the wall. My ankle was screaming in protest and my underarms were sore. I shook my head, trying to shake off the pain, and continued down the hallway. I hadn't actually seen the upstairs of this house, but it was rather small. There were only two rooms, and they were both all the way at the end of the narrow hallway. The door to the bathroom was wide open, but the door to the only other room was closed tightly. I assumed this was where Nick and Rochelle were. I sighed, and stood in front of the door to their room. I really didn't want to wake either of the, if they were sleeping, but Ellis and I both really needed to be relieved of this pain. I shook my head, and knocked on the door lightly.

Behind the door I heard some shuffling, a grunt, and then footsteps. Nick opened the door, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He yawned quietly, and looked at me. "Zoey?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Uh…what're you doing up here?" Nick yawned again, and I noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt.

I rubbed the back of my neck as Nick stared me down, his tired eyes questioning me. I felt kind of bad that I'd bothered him. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Um…sorry to bother you, Nick. But Ellis and I really need some pills and I was wondering if you had any?"

"Oh, sorry 'bout that. We do actually have some pills up here. Let me grab 'em for you." Nick nodded, his voice slightly slurred and thick with sleep. He closed the door, and I heard him shuffling around, followed by Rochelle's voice.

"Everything okay, Nick?" Her voice was soft and tired sounding.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Ro. Zoey wants some pills for Ellis and I'm just grabbing her some. Go back to sleep." Nick's voice was soft, and sounding very caring. I'd never heard Nick speak to anybody in that tone. It was kind of cute.

After a bit more shuffling around, Nick came back to the door, and handed me to bottles of pills. "There you go." He said, yawing once again. "Need anything else?"

I shook my head. "Thank you, Nick."

He nodded, and then closed the door, calling out a soft 'goodnight' as he did so.

I took the two bottles of pills and stuffed one bottle in each pocket, and made my way down the narrow hallway to the stairs. When I reached the landing at the top of the stairs, I came up with a good idea. I removed my crutches and sat down, and then pushed myself down the stairs on my butt. When I got to the third to last step, Ellis was watching me with curious eyes. He chuckled.

"What?" I asked laughing a bit, as I reached the bottom step, and stood up, crutching back over to the futon.

"Nothin'. You just looked kinda funny comin' down those stairs on your rear end." He laughed, and I laughed with him as I set my crutches against the wall, and sat down next to him. I handed him a bottle of pills, and he smiled gratefully at me.

"Whatever." I laughed and rolled my eyes. I popped open the bottle and removed two pills, placing them in my palm. I screwed the lid on, and set the bottle on the little table next to the futon. Ellis handed me his bottle of pills, and I placed them next to my bottle.

"Goddammit!" I groaned, realizing I hadn't grabbed myself a water bottle to take my pills. Since I'd just sat down, I really didn't want to get up again.

"What's wrong?" Ellis asked, running a hand through his hair.

"I forgot a water bottle to take my pills. I'll be right back….again." I groaned as I stood up, and ignoring the crutches, made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed a water bottle off of the counter, and then hobbled back to the futon, popping my pills into my mouth, and taking two at once. I took another swig of water, and then put the cap back on.

"Can I borrow that water, Zoey?" Ellis asked, holding his hand out.

"Shit! I forgot to garb you one, sorry Ellis." I went to stand up to make my way back to the kitchen and grab him one, but Ellis placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Just sit down, Zoey. Ain't no need for you to get up and get me one. Just give me a sip of yours. I'm not afraid of cooties." HE said in a joking tone, laughing.

I handed him my bottle, laughing. "Okay fine, here you go."

Ellis unscrewed the cap, and popped the pills in his mouth, taking three at once. He downed half of the water bottle with it.

I laughed. "Thirsty there?"

He shrugged, wincing a bit. "Not really, but just wanted to make sure the pills got down." He smiled at me, his teeth illuminating the darkness. I smiled back, unable to resist it.

Ellis took my hand in his, and entangled our fingers as he gave my hand a light squeeze. "Thanks for everything you did for me, Zoey." His smile softened, and his blue eyes locked with my green ones. I smiled back at him and leaned forward, resting my forehead against his.

"I'm here to help out anyway I can." I said, smiling as Ellis tucked a stray lock of my hair behind my ear. The rain continued outside and thunder rumbled off in the distance.

Ellis leaned into me more, and closed his eyes. I closed mine as well, and our lips met in a soft kiss. His hand still held mine, and I moved my free hand to cup the side of his face that wasn't bruised.

Ellis was the first to pull away, and I was left smiling as he did so. I giggled a bit, and he laughed quietly.

"Well then…" He said, rubbing the back of his neck the way I did when I was nervous.

I laughed quietly, and watched the window as the rain fell against it, leaving little drops that would streak down. When I looked away, I met Ellis' eyes and saw he was watching me.

"What?" I said, laughing again as a smile was dancing around the edges of Ellis' lips.

"Nothin'." He said, looking away and blushing. He grabbed his hat off of the back of the couch, and settled it on his head.

I tapped the rim of his hat so it covered his eyes. He laughed, returning his hat to its original position. "Now what was that for?" He asked, smirking.

I shrugged, beginning to feel the effects of the painkillers. The pain in my ankle had been subdued, and was starting to feel pretty good. The sound of the rain was relaxing, and after kissing Ellis, my body had tingles running through it. "I don't really even know…just seemed appropriate." Ellis laughed and shook his head.

"I have a question though…" He said, his face becoming a bit serious.

"Shoot."

"Are we actually…" He paused, rubbing his neck. "Are we…like…a _thing_?" I laughed at the juvenile term he used. He raised an eyebrow. "What are you laughing at?"

I shook my head. "This is pretty much the end of the world, and you're still using the phrase 'a _thing_'?" I laughed, and Ellis shrugged. "That just struck me as funny as all."

Ellis shrugged again. "I don't know… Are we a couple then?"

I paused for a moment to think. Were we? "I honestly don't know Ellis…"

He nodded, and shrugged. "Well it kinda seems like we have something…" He trailed off, leaning back and yawning.

I nodded along with him, and leaned back against the futon and closed my eyes. "Maybe we do. Because it's pretty obvious we can't stay away from each other." My voice was just above a whisper. "And we both know each other's life stories. But…"

"But what?" He asked, yawning again as thunder rumbled overhead.

I shook my head, opening my eyes and staring at the ceiling. "I'm not sure exactly. Because we said we'd take it slow after you found me back in that other safehouse. But we really do connect on a pretty intense level." I rolled my head to the side and looked at Ellis who was sitting up and had his head against the back of the couch like I did. His eyes met mine, and I smiled softly at him. He smiled back at me, looking tired.

"We do connect pretty well, don't we?" He asked, taking my hand in his. I blushed a bit.

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement.

We sat there together in the darkness, listening to the rain as it dripped against the windows, the only other sound in the room was Ellis' soft, almost ragged breathing, and my deep breaths. His eyes locked with mine and he smiled at me again, causing me to smile back. I yawned quietly, and Ellis followed suit, causing us to both laugh softly.

"How's your left leg today?" I asked, remembering how he had said that his one leg wasn't getting the feeling back.

Ellis looked down, and moved his leg. "It's okay today, actually. I can feel it pretty good." He yawned again, and leaned back against the futon closing his eyes, his hand still holding mine. I watched him as his took a few deep, ragged breaths.

"Hey, Ellis?" I whispered to him. He opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you lay across my lap? Sleeping sitting up like that probably won't make you feel very good in the morning."

Ellis shrugged. "I don't want to be a burden to ya, Zoey…" He paused and took off his cap, placing it on the back of the futon and running his hand through his hair. "That can't be too comfy for you."

I shook my head. "Nonsense, Ellis. Come here."

Ellis leaned over, and rested his head across my legs and stretched his legs out, his joints cracking and popping. He winced a bit, but soon relaxed.

"You sure you're okay?" Ellis asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Yes, Ellis, I'm fine. Now get some rest, you're not going to recover if you don't sleep." I ran a hand through his hair, and Ellis sighed, relaxing further.

Within the next five minutes, Ellis had fallen asleep. He was snoring lightly, his breathing still ragged, but not nearly as bad as before. I wondered if he was a fast healer because although he was still pretty bruised up, his chest didn't look as caved in as it had been. I stroked his cheek gently, being careful not to touch the purplish blue bruise that had formed there. He had a few cuts and scrapes on his face, but nothing serious. I sighed, still feeling bad he had been so beaten up by that damn charger. Rochelle had helped me change the bandage on his side when he was unconscious so it didn't cause him too much pain. Luckily, the bleeding had been stopped, and now we were just making sure it stayed clean and covered so it wouldn't get infected.

I moved my hand from Ellis' face to his shoulder, and gently rubbed his arm. His arms didn't appear to have any serve damage, which was good. HE had a couple of small bruises, but nothing big. I sighed again, yawning. Although I felt tired, and the sound of the rain was quite relaxing, I couldn't seem to fall asleep. My ankle didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it had before, and for that I was grateful. It was now just a dull ache, and that I could handle.

Sighing once more, I leaned my head back against the futon, and stared out the window at the rain. It had been raining for quite some time, and I wondered if it would ever stop. I honestly didn't mind it though, as long as I was indoors. Walking all that way before I'd found these three in the rain had not been pleasant. I shuddered a bit, trying to push those dark thoughts lingering in the back of my mind away. That's the last thing I wanted to think of.

I yawned, and continued to idly watch as the rain fell. Before I knew it, my eyelids became heavy and began to droop, and I fell into a light, restless sleep.

Nick's POV:

I woke before the sun had come up. Opening my eyes, I saw the rain had let up, and the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, but had not yet fully come up. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Rochelle was breathing deeply next to me on the cot we had slept on. She was rolled on her side, her back to me, and her arms wrapped around her stomach. The sleeping bag she had been using as a blanket had fallen off, and she was shivering a bit against the cool drafts in this room. I sat up, my back popping, and yawned. I brought the sleeping bag back around Rochelle, and she snuggled against it. After kissing her lightly on the cheek, I stood up, and collected my blue button down, tossing it on and doing up the buttons.

As quietly as I could, I opened the door and slipped out, closing it tightly behind me. Tiptoeing down the hallway, I made my way down the stairs, being quiet still so I didn't wake up Ellis or Zoey. I was surprised though when I met Zoey's green eyes as she watched me coming down the stairs. Ellis was asleep on her lap, and her hand was on his shoulder. She smiled tiredly at me.

"Morning." I said quietly, yawning, and making my way towards the kitchen. My stomach growled, and I felt kinda woozy. Part of it was because I'd just woken up, but part of it was because I hadn't eaten in a while. I surveyed the counter of food, and finally settled on a bowl of plain, dry cereal. Man, what I wouldn't give to have some decent food…

Sighing, I poured myself a bowl, and grabbed a spoon. The plain flakes staring up at me from the bowl caused me to groan a bit as my stomach growled. I considering just smoking a cigarette to ease my hunger pains, but I thought against the idea considering when I'd last checked I only have four more smokes left.

I leaned against the counter, and pushed the cereal around the bowl with my spoon. Finally, I took a spoonful and put it in my mouth, chewing slowly. The cereal was dry, but surprisingly not stale. It was bland, but it was food. I shrugged and finished off the rest of the bowl. When I'd finished the last of the cereal, I rinsed out the bowl and washed off the spoon the best I could in the sink. The water coming from the tap was ice cold, and I shivered a bit as I turned it off. I placed the bowl and spoon back on the counter to dry, and then made my way back to the living room.

Zoey was staring out the window, watching the sun come up, while Ellis was snoring semi-loudly on her lap. I moved to the edge of the room, and leaned against the wall. Zoey turned her eyes to me and nodded. She looked really tired, and I could tell by the way she was yawing that she hadn't slept well.

"Did you get any sleep?" I whispered to Zoey, and she shrugged. "Because you look like hell."

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Gee thanks, Nick. That's what every girl wants to hear first thing in the morning."

I laughed quietly, and that caused Zoey to roll her eyes again. "Just spitting the truth here."

Zoey shook her head. "Whatever."

I raised an eyebrow. "Bad mood?"

"Nope." She shrugged, and yawned once more. "You?"

I shook my head. "Nah. Just wish we had some decent food around here."

She nodded her head, sighing. "Tell me about it. You know what I miss?"

"Hmm?"

"Peanut butter." She sighed sadly. "I haven't had peanut butter in so long."

I scrunched my nose up. "Peanut butter? Out of all of the foods that have gone extinct, you miss _peanut butter_?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, man. Peanut butter is the shit."

I shook my head. "Oh please. Peanut butter is children's food. Now, you want to talk about _good _food…" She rolled her eyes, causing me to laugh to myself. "Things like prime rib, steamed lobster, filet mignon, cheese soufflé, Swedish moose cheese…"

Zoey gave me a weird look. "Swedish _moose _cheese..?"

I smirked. "Yep. It costs around two hundred dollars a pound."

Her eyes widened. "Two hundred dollars a _pound_? Who has that kind of money?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I did at one point."

Zoey raised an eyebrow at me, her eyes questioning. "How?"

I shrugged again. "I was a gambler. That's actually why I was in Savannah in the first place. I was going to go to either Vegas or Atlantic City, but I figured I could get more money outta the suckers here…" Zoey looked at Ellis and then back at me. I could tell what she was thinking. "I can't see Ellis playing card games like I do, so he's safe." I rolled my eyes.

Zoey sighed. "So you're a conman, huh?"

I shrugged dejectedly. "More or less. Either way, that shit's all over now, anyways. Money means shit to me now. We can play monopoly with real money if we wanted to. It wouldn't matter."

Zoey just nodded in agreement. "I suppose you're right. But why did you lead a life like that anyways?"

"I liked causing trouble, and I still kinda do. But it doesn't matter either way. Can we just drop this?"

Zoey nodded. "Sure."

I went to reach for a cigarette, but then I realized I'd left my suit jacket upstairs. "Dammit…" I mumbled to myself as I sighed. I really didn't want to risk going upstairs and waking Rochelle. I guess I'd just have to wait until she got up…

I sighed and leaned against the wall, and watched as the sun came up over the horizon. The rays of light shone through the window and hit me on the face, warming my being. I closed my eyes, and enjoyed the feeling. In the background, I heard light snoring. I turned and look to find that Zoey had fallen asleep, and I laughed quietly to myself. She was leaning over Ellis, and resting her head against his. They looked cute, all cured up like that. I smirked to myself, thinking back to when Ellis had first met Zoey. She was quite the bitch to him, yet he was drooling over her. I always found that to be comical in a sappy way.

I continued to lean against the wall, and let the sun warm my face. I yawned once, and stretched, continuing to keep my eyes closed. It felt good to just relax a bit. Moments like these I rarely got to enjoy. But there is no doubt that did enjoy them.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been standing there, but behind me, I heard the sounds of somebody yawning, followed by a few grunts. I opened my eyes, and saw Ellis rubbing his eyes, as he attempted to sit up. Zoey had moved and was now leaning back against the futon. Ellis pushed himself up, and ran a hand through his messy hair, and then grabbed his cap and settled it on his head.

He looked over at me and smiled sleepily. "Mornin', Nick." He greeted me quietly, his ever happy personality present in his tone.

I smiled at him. "Hey kid. How ya feeling today?"

He sort of shrugged. "Well, I ain't in the best shape, but I'll live. How long you been up?"

"Not sure, but it's been some time."

Ellis nodded, and sighed, leaning back against the couch. He winced a little. "Hey Nick? Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, kid."

"Can you hand me that water bottle, and three pills off that table please?" He sighed again, trying to hide the pain he felt.

I walked over to the table and handed him the things he needed. He eagerly took the pills from me, and took three of them at the same time, and then downed the remaining half of the water before leaning back against the sofa and sighing softly. "Thanks."

"Sure thing, Ellis."

He grinned at me with that stupid grin he always had plastered on his lips. I couldn't help but smile back though, that kid's happiness was contagious. He was a good kid, but he was stuck in a bad situation. I almost felt bad for him, but since he felt good about each and every day, I really didn't. I said I almost felt bad. _Almost._

A little while later, while I was just hanging around downstairs, I heard a blood curdling scream from upstairs, followed by, "NICK! COME HERE! PLEASE! NICK! ANYBODY!" and then another scream. Ellis and I looked at each other, and Zoey, who had just been woken up, looked a bit dazed and confused. I stood there a moment, almost frozen in shock at the sound, but was quickly broken out of it when I heard Rochelle screaming, but this time it was a combination of pain and fear. "NICK! HELP ME!"

"_ROCHELLE!_" I yelled up the stairs and ran as fast as I could. I sped down the hallway and burst through the door, and found Rochelle clutching her stomach, half naked, and covered in her own blood, a pool of it forming around her. The scene in front of me stopped me in my tracks and caused me to freeze. On the cot near Rochelle there was a small thing no bigger than my hand, covered in blood, and completely still…

Rochelle was covered sweat, and she was moaning in pain. I knelt down next to her and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead. Rochelle was crying, and she gripped my hand.

"Calm down sweetheart, I'm here…" I said, tears bubbling over my eyes. "It's okay…it's okay…"

Rochelle pulled herself to me, and I hugged her tightly, rubbing her back softly. "It's…not okay…" She coughed out in between sobs. "I…I…I mis….mis…carried…." Her sobs were wracking her whole body, and she was hardly breathing. I tried my very best to calm her down.

"Calm down, Rochelle, calm down…" I pulled away from the hug, and gently scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom. "We need to get you cleaned up, alright?"

I set her on the toilet, and she continued to sob, her body shaking. I turned the water on and adjusted it, but the warmest I could get it was lukewarm. Using the small stopper on the side of the tub, I drew her a bath. I removed Rochelle's pink shirt and bra, and set her in the tub, watching her as she brought her knees up to her chest, the water turning slightly red.

She wasn't saying or doing a thing, she simply sat there and sobbed. I cringed at the sight. The water continued to turn redder and redder.

"Um…oh God. Rochelle…you're bleeding…"

Rochelle looked down, and she screamed again. I winced, and downstairs, I heard Ellis calling out if everything was alright_. How on Earth was I going to break this to them…?_ I thought to myself as Rochelle stepped out of the tub, blood running down her legs. _And how am I going to stop this bleeding…?_

Rochelle cried as she stood there naked and shivering. I searched the bathroom, until I found a towel and handed it to her. She pressed it in between her legs, the yellow fabric of the towel turning red. She stood there a good ten minutes, but finally got the bleeding to stop. Her tears had stopped as well, but her whole demeanor was sad.

"Nick…" She whispered, her voice hoarse and soft. "Can you get my clothes from the other room…? I can't… I can't go back in there…."

I kissed her on the forehead, and left her alone as she began to pull her bra and shirt on. I walked into the other room, trying to avoid looking at the bloody mess on the cot. My stomach churned as I made my way to the other side of the room, and collected my suit jacket, and Rochelle's clothes.

I left the room, shutting the door tightly behind me. I walked back into the bathroom, and handed Rochelle her things, and she finished dressing herself. I slipped my suit jacket on, and then pulled her into my arms. She cried into my chest, and I felt tears escaping the corners of my eyes.

"We should bury it." Rochelle stated quietly.

I pulled back and looked at her tear streaked face. "What?"

"The…um…fetus? We should bury it." Tears bubbled over her eyes and streaked down her cheeks. "I don't want to leave it in there to rot…I think we should bury it." Her voice cracked. I felt like absolute crap seeing Rochelle this way. I didn't want kids, especially now, but this was the most heartbreaking thing I'd ever seen.

"Okay, Rochelle. If that's what you want…"

She nodded. "I think it's what's best." She pulled out of my arms, and collected the bloody towel off of the floor, she limped slightly over to the other room, with me following close on her heels. She grabbed for the handle, but her hands were shaking as she turned it and pushed the door open. She gasped at the sight, and bent down next to the cot, collecting the small bloody blob off of the floor. I winced as she wrapped it up in the towel, crying.

"I'm sorry my sweet little angel…" Rochelle said to the tiny little fetus. "I'm sorry I couldn't provide you with what you needed. But you're in heaven now looking over daddy and I." Tears dropped from my eyes like rain drops. My heart ached.

Rochelle stood up, carrying the small bloody bundle, and made her way down the hallway. I followed behind her.

"Nick…" She said, turning towards me, that amount of sadness in her eyes breaking me down. "Let's go, and get this done quickly. I want to leave this place afterwards."

I nodded, my heartbreaking. "Okay, we can do that."

"Good…" Rochelle said, slowly making her way down the steps. I followed behind her closely and she carried that bloody bundle.

When we reached the living room, Ellis and Zoey watched us with wide eyes, eyeing Rochelle. Zoey had tears in her eyes, and I noticed she was gripping Ellis' hand tightly. Ellis had removed his hat, and he looked as sad as Rochelle did. She smiled weakly and sadly at them, and then walked out the front door. I followed her, shutting the door tightly behind me.

We walked to the back of the house, and found a small garden. Rochelle set the tiny bundle on the ground, and got down on her knees. I got down next to her, and we dug a fairly good sized hole in the wet, rain soaked soil. She placed the small bloody towel inside the hole, and picked a small flower off a tiny bush nearby, and placed it inside the makeshift grave. We refilled the hole, and smoothed out the surface.

She stood up, wiping her hands on her jeans, and I wiped my on the grass. I pulled her into a tight hug, and it began to drizzle. "We should start heading out." I said, quietly.

Rochelle nodded into my chest. "I want to forget this every happened."

She pulled out of my hug, and walked away into the house. And as I watched her go, I swore I heard the sound of a baby crying in the distance.

**[A/N: And there you have it! I warned you all at the beginning of the story in the first chapter this was going to be some dark stuff… I thought to come back in with a bang; I'd put a huge shocker in the story, and fuck with your minds a little bit. This was horribly hard to write, because after all, it's rather depressing, but I figured it'd be quite difficult incorporating a baby into a zombie apocalypse. That idea was a bit crazy as it was, not to mention how could malnourished women, like Rochelle or Zoey, carry a baby? So if you are wondering why Rochelle miscarried, that would be why. Sorry if I made you guys sad with this, or turned you off of the story, but trust me, it gets better! I hope you enjoyed this update, and I promise there are more to come. Thanks for reading, and please review!]**


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